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.
Taiwan’s participation in the Olympic Games has been a story of politics as much as sports, with the name it has competed under since 1984 — Chinese Taipei — drawing as much attention as its athletes. However, with the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad set to begin in Paris on Friday, the exploits of Taiwan’s athletes past and present who have won 36 medals since the country’s debut in Melbourne in 1956 deserve a nod. Many of Taiwan’s medal winners have gained considerable name recognition, but only two have achieved legendary status — Maysang Kalimud and Chi Cheng, the only medal winners
Shohei Ohtani on Sunday hit a 473-foot (144m) home run as the Los Angeles Dodgers went deep six times in a 9-6 victory over the Boston Red Sox. Freddie Freeman, Teoscar Hernandez, Gavin Lux, Austin Barnes and Jason Heyward also connected as Los Angeles swept the three-game series. “Going into the break, we weren’t playing good baseball, and then to come out fresh against a really good ball club and to play the way we did — the offense came to life,” Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts said. It was the 25th time the Dodgers launched at least six homers in a game
Canada women’s soccer coach Bev Priestman on Wednesday said she would step away from the team’s opening game against New Zealand at the Paris Olympics in the wake of a drone scandal. New Zealand complained to the International Olympic Committee’s integrity unit after it said drones were flown over closed practice sessions earlier in the week. As of press time last night, Canada, the defending Olympic champions, were set to open the Paris Games against New Zealand in Saint-Etienne. In the fallout of the complaint, two staff members — assistant coach Jasmine Mander and analyst Joseph Lombardi — were sent home, the
Conventional wisdom dictates that the average retirement age for elite female players in the intense and physically demanding sport of badminton is well under 30 years old. Five female shuttlers are set to turn that on its head when they make their fourth Olympic appearances at the Paris Games, a feat never accomplished before. Taiwan’s Tai Tzu-ying, 30, Thailand’s Ratchanok Intanon, 29, Belgium’s Lianne Tan, 33, and Hong Kong’s Tse Ying Suet and Canada’s Michelle Li, both 32, are to compete for Olympic glory at Porte de La Chapelle Arena from Saturday to Aug. 5. “These achievements get missed because they’re women,” said