A dispute over a slippery judo jacket may have denied hosts Japan a perfect ending to the world judo championships although they have heaved themselves back from a disastrous performance two years ago.
The International Judo Federation (IJF) ruled out a breach of fair play in the case of middleweight Yoshihiro Akiyama, whose slippery jacket, or judogi, has drawn protests from France, Mongolia and Turkey.
Akiyama was forced to change his judogi, which was suspected of being waxed to make it difficult for his opponents to grip.
He had beaten opponents from the three countries to reach an 81kg light middleweight semifinal on Friday.
Wearing a reserve jacket, the Asian Games champion narrowly lost to German Florian Wanner who eventually won the title.
"The case is finished. We don't need it [special inquiry]," IJF president Park Yong-sun told reporters on Sunday as the four-day championships closed with Japan at the top of the medal table with six golds, three each for men and women.
Japan, who came home with only one men's title and three women's at the 2001 championships, had hoped to emulate their record world championship performance in 1999 -- four titles for each sex.
IJF referee director Juan Carlos Barcos said an examination of the jacket found that the slippery texture was due to high humidity which prevailed in Osaka and a detergent used to wash the uniform.
"At any moment, we did not have any doubt about fair play in the case. We are absolutely sure that Mr Akiyama is correct," as he changed the jacket at the request of the jury, Barcos said.
The incident was unheard of in IJF-sanctioned tournaments, Barcos said. But Akiyama was also accused of wearing slippery gear by former world and Olympic champion Kenzo Nakamura when they fought at the world championship trials last April.
Akiyama, a fourth-generation ethnic Korean who obtained Japanese nationality two years ago, reportedly said the jacket had been washed once.
FRUSTRATION: Alcaraz made several unforced errors over four sets against Bosnian Damir Dzumhur, who had never made it past the third round in a major competition Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz reached the fourth round of the French Open after laboring past Damir Dzumhur 6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 in the Friday night session. The second-seeded Spaniard had never before played Dzumhur, a 33-year-old Bosnian who had never been past the third round at any major tournament. “I suffered quite a lot today,” Alcaraz said. “The first two sets was under control, then he started to play more deeply and more aggressively. It was really difficult for me.” Dzumhur hurt his left knee in a fall in the second round, and had treatment on Friday on his right leg during the
‘DREAM’: The 5-0 victory was PSG’s first Champions League title, and the biggest final win by any team in the 70-year history of the top-flight European competition Paris Saint-Germain won the Champions League for the first time as Luis Enrique’s brilliant young side outclassed Inter on Saturday in the most one-sided final ever with teenager Desire Doue scoring twice in an astonishing 5-0 victory. Doue supplied the pass for Achraf Hakimi to give PSG an early lead and the 19-year-old went from provider to finisher as his deflected shot doubled the advantage in the 20th minute. Doue scored again just after the hour mark, ending any doubt about the outcome before Khvicha Kvaratskhelia ran away to get the fourth and substitute Senny Mayulu, another teenager, made it five. Inter were
The horn sounded on Wednesday night to signal a third straight trip to the Stanley Cup Final, as the Florida Panthers celebrated merely by hopping over the boards and several heading over to congratulate goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky. It was a subdued celebration seemingly more befitting a regular-season win for the reigning Cup champs. “I remember a few years ago, it felt like such an accomplishment from where we were at one point,” forward Matthew Tkachuk said, adding: “It’s all business and we’ve got a bigger goal in mind.” The Panthers closed out the Carolina Hurricanes in five games, with a 5-3 victory in
The Edmonton Oilers on Thursday defeated the Dallas Stars 6-3 to book their place in the Stanley Cup Finals, setting up a repeat of last year’s NHL showpiece against reigning champions the Florida Panthers. The Oilers, bidding to become the first Canadian team to win the NHL’s championship series since the 1993 Montreal Canadiens, head to Florida for Game 1 of the best-of-seven series set for Wednesday. Florida, who are to play in the NHL showpiece for the third straight season, won last year’s title 4-3 to extend Canada’s decades-long Stanley Cup drought. Connor McDavid led Edmonton back to the championship series on
RSS