Japan's Kosei Inoue got off to solid start yesterday, dominating the under-100kg class on the opening day of the world judo championships.
Inoue, bidding for his third straight under-100kg title, advanced to the semifinal at Osaka Jo Hall after defeating three judoka, including Georgia's Iveri Jikurauli in the final bout of the qualifying rounds.
PHOTO: AFP
Olympic gold medalist Inoue will face Canada's Nicolas Gill in the semis in a rematch of the final at the Sydney Olympics.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Gill, who took home the silver in Sydney, advanced when he defeated Brazilian Mario Sabino, who was penalized for non-combativity late in the bout.
In a major upset, European champion Ariel Zeevi of Israel was eliminated in the qualifying round by Kazakstan's Askhat Zhitkeyev.
Italy's Michele Monti and France's Ghislain Lemaire booked the other semifinal spots.
In the men's over-100kg class, pint-sized Yasuyuki Muneta of Japan defeated European heavyweight champion Tamerlan Tmenov of Russia.
Muneta also defeated Tmenov at the Jigoro Kano Cup in Tokyo in January.
Tmenov, the Sydney bronze medalist, was on the attack for most of the match but was penalized for a defensive posture with 28 seconds left to give Muneta the victory. Russia was expected to dominate the heavyweight divisions at the four-day championships and Tmenov's early exit was a clear setback.
Muneta went on to defeat Iran's Mohmoud Miranfashandi with an inside thigh throw to advance to the semifinals.
Yevgen Sotnikov of Ukraine also advanced to the over-100kg semis along with Brazil's Daniel Hernandes and Dennis Van Der Geest of the Netherlands.
In the women's under-78kg class, Japan's Noriko Anno, who is aiming for her fourth light-heavyweight title in the world championships, advanced along with Spain's Esther San Miguel, Ednanci Silva of Brazil and Cuba'a Yurisel Laborde.
Japan's Maki Tsukada booked a place in the over-78kg semifinals along with Cuba'a Daima Beltran, Germany's Sandra Koeppen and China's Sun Fuming.
NO HARD FEELINGS: Taiwan’s Lin Hsiang-ti and Indonesia’s Dhinda Amartya Pratiwi embraced after fighting to a tense and rare 30-29 final game in their Uber Cup match The Taiwanese men’s team on Wednesday fought back from the brink of elimination to defeat Denmark in Group C and advance to the quarter-finals of the Thomas Cup, while the women’s team were to face South Korea after press time last night in the Uber Cup quarter-finals in Horsens, Denmark. In the first match, Taiwan’s top shuttler Chou Tien-chen faced a familiar opponent in world No. 3 Anders Antonsen. It was their 16th head-to-head matchup, with the Dane taking his fourth victory in a row against former world No. 2 Chou, winning 21-14, 13-21, 21-15 in 1 hour, 22 minutes. The
Jannik Sinner continued his quest to become the first man in history to win five Masters 1000 tournaments in a row with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Danish qualifier Elmer Moller at the Madrid Open on Sunday. The world leader extended his winning streak to 19 matches, a run that began early March in Indian Wells, and he has captured 24 consecutive victories at the Masters 1000 level, dating back to the Paris Masters last October. Searching for a maiden title at this level on clay, Sinner advanced to the round of 16 at the Caja Magica with a 77-minute performance against
When Paddy Dwyer arrived in China in 1976, crowds jostled to catch a glimpse of him and his companions — the first Western soccer team to play in the country. China was emerging from the chaos of the Cultural Revolution, and on the brink of market reforms that would take the country from economic stagnation to explosive growth. “All we could see was lines of people running beside our bus, trying to look in the windows, to see their first visual of a white person,” he said. “It was all bicycles,” he said. “There were very few cars to be seen.” Dwyer,
Tennis players are facing an unexpected opponent at the Madrid Open. A stomach virus or food poisoning has affected Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Marin Cilic and others, raising concerns. World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka avoided an upset by Naomi Osaka on the court on Monday and said she is trying to avoid illness by sticking to a diet of chicken breasts, rice and salad. The rumor among the players was bad shrimp tacos were to blame. Sabalenka knocked on wood for luck and said, “So far, so good. I heard that I have to avoid those tacos,” she laughed, adding “I stick to the
RSS