Five Filipinos and a Fil-Japanese earned trip tickets to the Southeast Asian Games

Five Filipinos and a Fil-Japanese earned trip tickets to the Southeast Asian Games slated on December 11-22 after dominating their respective divisions in the pre-SEA Games qualifying held in Myanmar.

MB Tae Kwon Do EagleGilbert Ramirez, Bryan Quillotes, Dennis Catipon, Helen Dawa, Jennylou Mosqueda and Kiyome Watanabe humbled their respective rivals in a mighty show of superiority that convinced the POC-PSC SEA Games Task Force that they deserved to join the delegation to the 11-nation biennial meet along with seeded Nancy Quillotes and Ruth Dugaduga.

Quillotes and Dugaduga qualified by virtue of their golden finish in the last SEA Games held in Indonesia.

This will be the second time Watanabe will play for the country since 2011 in Indonesia where the 16-year-old won the bronze in her first appearance.

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Japanese Officials Complain About Biased Judges at Asian Games Judo Tournament

The Mainichi reports that Japanese Judo officials are angry about some “questionable” judging at the Asian Games’ Judo Tournament (held in China):

Kazuo Yoshimura, the technical director of the All Japan Judo Federation said Tuesday, “I’ve been to many international tournaments, but I have never seen referees as bad as they are at this tournament.”
Fukumi was the aggressor with her mat techniques and leg maneuvers in the final, but the judges decided in favor of her Chinese opponent Wu Shugen 2-1 after three minutes of scoreless overtime.
The local crowd had been chanting “Chongguo jiayou” or “Go China” throughout the match, pressuring the judges while waiting for them to raise the flags.
“What happened in the last match should never happen. Decisions like that will unmotivated athletes,” Yoshimura said, referring to Fukumi’s final.
“The opponent didn’t attempt to deploy a waza at all. Fukumi, on the other hand, tripped her opponent three times and also was aggressive on the mat. How can that be a 2-1 decision?”

The judges also failed to make any calls when a North Korean judo wrestler punched Japan’s Haruki Uemura in the face. Despite getting a black eye, Uemura won the gold medal:

Ueno, the newly crowned 63-kg gold medalist, took several blows from her North Korean semifinal opponent Kim Su Gyong on Sunday, prompting Uemura to consider asking the International Judo Federation to review the match.
Kim appeared to punch Ueno, who went on to win, more than once at the start of the bout, leaving her with a badly bruised left eye without structural damage.
It’s obvious she was punched at least three times,” said Uemura, the No. 2 Japanese delegation for the Games said.
Uemura plans to send the IJF replays of the match, accompanied with an image of Ueno’s swollen eye.
“I watched the scene several times, but that was beyond horrible,” Yoshimura said. “We are not in a fight, we are in a judo bout. It’s not possible her eye would be that swollen just from a judo match. It must have been deliberate.”

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Asian Games: Judoka win 3 more gold medals, Kitajima struggles in pool

Silver winner Ki Chun Wang of Republic of Korea, gold winner Hiroyuki Akimoto of Japan, bronze winners Navruz Jurakobilov of Uzbekistan and Rasul Boqiev of Tajikistan during the medals ceremony of the men's -73 kg Judo event of the 16th Asian Games in Guangzhou, China, Monday, Nov. 15, 2010. (AP Photo/Gurinder Osan)

GUANGZHOU (Kyodo) -- Japanese judoka added three more gold medals to the country's tally but Kosuke Kitajima failed to live up to his swim king status as Ryo Tateishi won the men's 100-meter breaststroke at the Asian Games on Monday.
Hiroyuki Akimoto and Kaori Matsumoto defeated South Korean opponents in the men's 73 kilograms and the women's 57 kg, respectively, before Misato Nakamura exorcized her Beijing Olympic demons en route to victory in the 52-kg class judo final.
Tateishi upstaged double Olympic champion Kitajima and Ryosuke Irie also chipped in with a gold of his own in the 200 backstroke final, a day after Japanese swimmers had left the pool nursing battered pride following China's five-for-six mauling.
Tateishi touched the wall in 1 minute, 00.38 seconds to finish ahead of Kazakhstan's Vladislav Polyakov (1:01.03) and China's Wang Shuai (1:01.71). A rusty-looking Kitajima placed fourth in 1:01.85.
"I felt I had a good swim and am honestly delighted," said Tateishi, who had finished second in the non-Olympic 50-meter breaststroke on Sunday.

Japan's Ryosuke Irie celebrates his gold medal he won in the men's 200m Backstroke event, at the 16th Asian Games in Guangzhou, China, Monday, Nov. 15, 2010. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

Kitajima hailed as 'Frog King' in China after winning back-to-back double Olympic breaststroke gold medals at the Beijing Games two years ago, never really looked in contention and admitted he had to step up a gear in the 200.
"That was no good," said Kitajima. "I have still got the 200. I don't know whether I can tune up well and have a good race but I just want do as well as I can."
World sliver medalist Irie won the backstroke gold in 1:55.45, four years after he captured the same title at age 16.
"We didn't win any gold yesterday, so I knew I could not lose" Irie said. "I had a good race. This is going to be a good stepping stone toward next year. Now I'm confident I can improve my time next year."
On the mats, world champion Akimoto, nursing a leg injury, faced Beijing silver medalist Wang Ki Chun in the final and won by a "yuko" point following a three-minute overtime.
"I wanted to win in a way so that my opponent will be convinced of his loss," Akimoto said. "I had shots above my left ankle twice before the semifinals and once before the final."
Matsumoto beat Kim Jan Di on points but was none too pleased with her performance.
"I won but I'm not happy," Matsumoto said. "I feel that I don't deserve to hold the title of being the world champion. It would have been no surprise if I lost the matches," she said.
Nakamura had double reason to celebrate as she avenged her Beijing Olympic semifinal defeat to North Korea's An Kum Ae before going on to beat Mongolia's Bundmaa Munkhbaatar with a submission hold.
"Two years ago, I was at a complete loss against An," Nakamura said. "(Today) I could produce what I had been working on for the past two years. I'm glad I won. I think I've grown (mentally and physically)," the 21-year-old said.
Japanese judoka have six judo gold here, two more than they won in Doha four years ago.
Elsewhere, Japan's baseball team blanked China 3-0 for its second straight win to advance to the semifinals while the men's table tennis team and the men's and women's tennis teams all settled for bronze medals.

(Mainichi Japan) November 16, 2010

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Japanese judokas win three golds in Asian Games

Japanese judokas win three golds in Asian Games
Japan won three gold medals on the third day of the 2010 Asian Games judo competition at the Huagong Gymnasium on Monday.
Hiroyuki Akimoto, Kaori Matsumoto and Misato Nakamura topped their respective events to add to the country's medal harvest.
World champion Akimoto overcame a leg injury to beat South Korean Wang Ki-chun in the men's under-73kg final. Akimoto scored a yuko in overtime after the regulation period ended scoreless.
"I wanted to win in a way so that my opponent will be convinced of his loss," Akimoto said in an interview with Kyodo News.
The Japanese admitted that it was not an easy journey for him as he was bothered by his injury throughout the competition.
"I had shots above my left ankle twice before the semi-finals and once before the final," he said.
Tajikistan's Rasul Boqiev and Uzbekistan's Navruz Jurakobilov shared the bronze medals.
Matsumoto gave Japan their first gold medal of the day when she ruled the women's under-57kg category. She scored a yuko against another South Korean Kim Jan-di to secure the win.
Matsumoto, however, was not pleased with her performance.
"I won but I'm not happy. I feel that I don't deserve to hold the title of being the world champion. It would have been no surprise if I lost the matches," she said.
Chinese Taipei's Lien Chen Ling and Mongolia's Battugs Tumen Od won the bronze medals.
Nakamura defeated Mongolia's Bundmaa Munkhbaatar in the final of the women's 52kg division. The 21-year-old beat her opponent with a submission move.
Nakamura also avenged her Beijing Olympics defeat to An Kum-ae when she defeated the North Korean in the semi-finals.
"Two years ago, I was at a complete loss against An. (Today) I could produce what I had been working on for the past two years. I'm glad I won. I think I've grown (mentally and physically)," she said.
An and China's He Hongmei took the bronze medals.
The only gold that slipped from the hands of the Japanese was in the men's 66kg division. South Korean Kim Joo-jin outpointed Uzbekistan's Mirzohid Farmonov to win the title.
North Korean Hong Kuk-hyon and Japanese Jumpei Morishita claimed the bronze medals.
Japanese athletes have now won six gold medals in judo. The final day of competition will be held tomorrow with medals at stake in the men's 60kg and open categories and women's 48kg and open disciplines.

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Japan strikes gold in judo, triathlon, but no swimming medals at Asian Games

GUANGZHOU, China (Kyodo) Takashi Ono opened Japan's men's judo team's gold medal account with victory in the men's 90-kg final while Yoshie Ueno took the 63 kg title to give the women their second title in two days on the mats at the Asian Games on Sunday.

Takashi Ono dislays his gold medal awarded for his victory in the men's 90-kg final of the Asian Games. KYODO PHOTO

Japan, however, took a nosedive with no top podium spots in the pool after Olympic double gold medalist Kosuke Kitajima came fourth in the non-Olympic 50-meter breaststroke while countryman Ryo Tateishi had to make do with the silver in a time of 27.86 seconds.

Japan proved to be king of the hill in the triathlon with another 1-2 finish, this time by Yuichi Hosoda and Ryosuke Yamamoto men's individual after the women dominated to take gold and silver on Saturday. Hosoda timed 1:52:15.56 while Yamamoto clocked 1:52:41.49.

"What an exciting moment!" said Hosoda, who came second at World Cup event in Ishigaki Island, Okinawa Prefecture, in April. "After the swim I was working my legs so much they were like rubber. I was so focused and tears came to my eyes in the end," he said.

Ono beat Uzbekistan's Dilshod Choriev with an ippon after 29 seconds in the 90 kg final, while two-time world champion Ueno placed Taiwan's Wang Chin-fang in a submission hold for the 63 kg crown.

The women added to the title won by Mika Sugimoto in the over 78 kg. Masahiro Takamatsu grabbed the bronze in the men's 81 kg but Mina Watanabe failed to claim a medal in the women's 70-kg class.

In the pool, Japan had no gold medals as China won five of the day's six events and South Korea got one from Olympic champion Park Tae Hwan at Aoti Aquatic Centre.

Yuichi Hosoda (right) and Ryosuke Yamamoto test their gold and silver medals, won Sunday in the men's triathlon. KYODO PHOTO

Chinese breaststroker Xie Zhi covered the 50 meters in 27.80 seconds, 0.06 clear of Tateishi. Li Xiayan, also of China, was third 0.09 behind.

Kitajima clocked 28.15 to share fourth place with Vladislav Polyakov of Kazakhstan and Mohammad Alirezaei Dizicheh of Iran.

"I don't know what to say," Kitajima said. "I couldn't swim my best race. I'll just try my best in the next one (100 meters on Tuesday)."

The Japanese women took the silver in the 4x100 rally in a national record of 3:37.90.

Takuro Fujii won silver in the 100 butterfly, while Shiho Sakai and Aya Terakawa were second and third, respectively, in the women's 200 backstroke. Takeshi Matsuda, who won the men's 200 butterfly a day earlier, took bronze in the 200 freestyle for his second medal.

The Japanese women's soccer team walloped Thailand in their first match 4-0.

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Korean judokas clean up at Asian Games

Kim Jae-bum celebrates after defeating Shokir Muminov of Uzbekistan in the under-81 kilogram division final at Huagong Gymnasium, yesterday. [YONHAP]

Kim Jae-bum won a gold medal at the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, China, yesterday, enhancing the national judo team’s already impressive start. 

The 25-year-old won his first Asian Games gold by defeating Shokir Muminov of Uzbekistan by ippon, the decisive point that wins a match, in the men’s under-81 kilogram division at Huagong Gymnasium. 

Kim had been a heavy favorite coming into the tourney after winning a gold medal at the 2010 Tokyo Judo World Championships in September. The gold represented Kim’s first world title and Korea’s lone gold medal at the tourney.

Kim is currently enjoying the best season of his career after coming up short in international competitions in the past. Kim had been a top prospect in the under-73 kilogram division but was overshadowed by Lee Won-hee and Wang Ki-chun. 

After he failed to qualify for the 2006 Doha Asian Games he moved up a weight class in 2007. Despite being a strong candidate to win a gold at the 2008 Beijing Summer Games, Kim had to settle for a silver after losing to Ole Bischof of Germany. The gold continued to elude him the following year at the 2009 Rotterdam World Championships when he broke a rib in the earlier rounds and ended up placing third.

Also yesterday, Lee Kyu-won defeated Timur Bolat of Kazakhstan in the under-90 kilogram division to win the bronze, while Hwang Ye-sul defeated North Korea’s Sol Kyong to win gold in the women’s under-70-kilogram division. 

Meanwhile, on the opening day of competition, Hwang Hee-tae and Kim Soo-hwan won gold medals in the under-100 kilogram and over-100 kilogram weight divisions, respectively. 

Hwang, 32, the oldest judoka on the squad, managed to defeat Takamasa Anai in the finals to win back-to-back Asiad gold medals. Hwang won a gold in the under-90 kilogram division at the 2006 Doha Asian Games. He defeated Anai - who recently won the 2010 Tokyo World Judo Championships - to become the first judoka to win back-to-back golds in two different weight classes at the Asiad.

“I studied video clips of my opponents,” Hwang said after the match. “I’m just happy to still be competing at my age. I’m the oldest judoka at the Asiad in any weight division.”

Kim defeated Abdullo Tangriev of Uzbekistan in the final to earn a gold in his first Asian Games. 

With the win, the 22-year-old senior at Yongin University earned an exemption from his mandatory military service. 

The same day, Jeong Gyeong-mi won the lone gold medal for the women’s squad by defeating Akari Ogata of Japan in the women’s under-78 kilogram division.

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Nepal seek historic success in judo

THT Online

Shushila Adhikari (right) and Ranju Rai fight during a training session on Thursday.

Rajendra Chapagain
KATHMANDU: It may be a far cry but Nepal Judo Association (NJA) is aspiring to strike a historical medal in the 16th Asian Games slated for November 12-27 in Guangzhou, China.

Four judokas are undergoing rigourous training for the regional sports extravaganza to realise the dream.

Coach Rajesh Karmacharya said he was training the players make the unthinkable happen. This will be the third time Nepali judokas will be appearing in the regional meet after the discipline was included in the 10th edition held in Seoul, Korea in 1986. Rishi Ram Pradhan and Ganga Bahadur Dangol had competed in 1986. Debu Thapa and Ranju Rai took part in the 15th edition in Doha, Qatar in 2006.

Ranju (women’s 57kg), Sushila Adhikari (women’s 52kg) along with Rajan Joshi (men’s above 100kg) and Deepak Krishna Shrestha (men’s 73kg) will represent Nepal in Asiad this time around. Rajan and Deepak are the 11th South Asian Games bronze winners. A Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) senior volunteer coach Masahiro Maeda is assisting local coach in Nepal’s judo preparation. Masahiro is voluntarily training the Nepali squad for last two years.

With the squad comprising of experienced campaigner, coach Karmacharya expressed confidence of faring well in Guangzhou. “Their (judokas) hard labour and dedication during the closed-camp training has generated hopes of finally winning at least a bronze medal,” added Karmacharya.

“We have good players but their poor physical strength will be a big disadvantage,” said Karmacharya. He also lamented the scarcity of quality players especially in women’s categories. “The fewer women judokas compelled us to chose within the ones we already had, making them play in the weight categories other than their own.”

However, Karmacharya was also hopeful with Sushila. “We expecting at least a bronze from Sushila,” added the coach. A Nepal Police Club (NPC) judoka Sushila had defeated her clubmate and the 11th South Asian Games bronze medallist Radha Devi Rai to confirm her Guangzhou ticket. Sushila overcame a high-profile player (Radha Devi) in the final selection on August 31.

After winning gold in the Expo International Judo Championships in India in 2003, Sushila participated in the first Asian Martial Arts Games, Thailand (2003) and Rajiv Gandhi International Judo Championships, India (2010). “I am confident of winning a medal, provided I am able to increase my fitness level and stamina,” said Sushila.

Deepak — who also played the 10th SA Games — said they would have learnt more had they been provided international training. “Training abroad against hard sparring partners would have at least given us a chance to check our status as well as be familiar with the new rules of the game,” said Deepak.

Rajan will be participating in his second international event after claiming bronze in the 11th SA Games. He was picked up after the preliminary round of selection as he was the only player to have registered in the weight category.

The 10th SA Games silver medallist Ranju was lucky to get the opportunity to represent Nepal after a late withdrawal of star performer Debu Thapa of NPC. Ranju brought home two bronze medals and a silver from India.

After finishing second in the South Asian Judo Championships (2003), the player finished third in the India Cup Judo Championships (2005) and Rajiv Gandhi International Judo Championships (2010). She also won gold in Expo International Judo Championships in India in 2003 before securing third place in the South Asian Judo Championships on home soil in 2008.

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India announce eight-member Judo team for Asian Games

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Beijing Olympian and 2007 Asian Championship bronze medalist judoka KH Tombi Devi will lead a eight-member Indian Judo team at the Asiad to be held in Guangzhou, China from November 12 to 27. The Judo Federation of India today announced an eight-strong team for the Asian Games, comprising four men

and four women players, who will compete in the Judo event to be held from November 13th to 16th. The team, which is currently in Bhopal for preparation camp, also comprises TH Kalpana Devi, the first Indian Judoka who won bronze in the 2010 World Cup Championship in September in Uzbekistan.
2008 and 2010 Commonwealth Judo Championships gold medallist A Anita Chanu and Garima Chaudhary, who won many medals in Junior as well as senior categories, also are part of the team. The men team will be represented by Navjot Chana, gold medalist of Commonwealth Championships 2010 and Ramasrhey Yadav, who won silver in 2009 Asian Championships and gold medal in Commonwealth Championship 2010 in Singapore.
Hungary coach Jozsef Csak, who has been engaged to train the Indian Judo team for the Guangzhou Asian Games, and Kamla Rawat will accompany the team as coaches and S Indrakumar will be the Team Manager in China.
Men players: Navjot (60Kg), Sanju Singh (66Kg), Ramashrey Yadav (73Kg), Sahil Pathania (90Kg). Women Players: KH Tombi devi (48Kg), TH Kalpana Devi (52Kg), A Anita Chanu (57Kg), Garima Chaudhary (63Kg).ju

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Indian Judo team for Asian Games to be picked on July 24

New Delhi: The Indian judo team for the November Asian Games in China will be picked after a selection trial in Bhopal on July 24.

The Judo Federation of India (JFI) will conduct the trials in four categories each for both men and women.

While men's selection trials will be conducted in below 60kg, below 66kg, below 73kg and below 90kg categories women players will be picked in below 48kg, below 52kg, below 57kg and below 63kg.

The trials will be held at Sports Authority of India centre in Bhopal.

Asian Games will be held in Guangzhou, China in November.

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Fifth M.N. Tennakoon Open Judo C’ship on July 24 and 25

The 5th M.N. Tennakoon Open Judo Championship will be conducted by the M.N.Tennakoon Judo Association in collaboration with the Sri Lanka Judo Association (SLJA) on July, 24 and 25 at the main dojo of the Association at the Sugathadasa Sports Complex.

This Tournament is being held after a lapse of several years and is staged in honour of a great Sri Lankan Judo master who served the sport with dedication and courage. Many of his students went on to become national champions and even won medals at international events. Raja Fernando, a legend himself and now a renowned Judo coach in Sweden, will be sponsoring this meet as a tribute to his late Master.  This is an open tournament where all Judoka are invited to take part and it is expected that a very high standard of Judo will be displayed. Trophies will be given to winners of individual weight categories as well as Open events for both men and women. Several Asian Games medalists as well as winners in other International Judo Tournaments have already confirmed their participation and spectators are assured of some high quality Judo. All the more so as this tournament has been designated as a selection trial for upcoming International events such as the World Championships - Japan, World Cup - UAE, Nepal Open Judo Championship and the Asian Games - China. (TBR

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Pakistan finish seventh in international judo event

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Judo team finished seventh and won one bronze medal in the two day JIKJI Cup International Junior Judo Tournament that ended on 11th July in Cheongju, Korea. 
 

In the event, 164 contestants from 25 countries aged below 20 years participated in seven men and seven women weight categories of judo.

Pakistani Judoka Shah Hussain whose father Hussain Shah was a former boxing Olympian and SAF games champion, got a bronze medal in the competition by defeating the Judoka of Germany and Chinese Taipei in the 100 Kg weight category.

However he lost his fight to Korean Judoka in the semi finals.

In the event, Korea finished first by wining six gold, five silver and eight bronze medals while Japan finished at number two with five gold, four silver and eight bronze medals.

Secretary General of the Pakistan Judo Federation, Masood Ahmed, told APP here on Tuesday that after the South Asians occasions, it is the first ever medal won by Pakistan in any international Judo event in the last two decade.

He also praised Fouzia Mumtaz, an excellent Judoka who got seventh place in the Judo World Cup 2010 Cairo and a bronze medal in the event.

He added that he has requested the Pakistan Sports Board to include judo in the upcoming 16th Asian Games. – APP

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Judo Athletes For Asian Youth Camp In Bangkok

KUALA LUMPUR, July 8 (Bernama) -- The Malaysia Judo Federation (MJF) will send a coach and two athletes to the Asian Judo Youth Camp under the Asian Youth Development Programme 2010 in Bangkok from July 17 to 30.

MJF executive secretary I. Mariappan said this would provide exposure and experience to the national squad who would be competing in the Taiwan International Judo Open from Aug 19 to 23.

Coach Othman Mohd Nizam and judo athletes Muhammad Ruzaini Abdul Razak and Esther Tam Shu Hui would be going to the youth camp, he told Bernama, here, today.

Mariappan said the two athletes were now undergoing training at the Bandar Penawar Sports School in Johor.

He said Malaysia would not be sending a team to the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi in October and the Asian Games in Guangzhou, China in November as judo would not be included in the Commonwealth Games while no national judo athletes qualified for the Asian Games.

-- BERNAMA

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Judo takes to the mat for Asian Games test event

Guangzhou, China - The test events continue in Guangzhou ahead of the 16th Asian Games in November. On Thursday it was the turn of judo, with China's strength in depth evident at the Huagong Gymnasium of the South China University of Technology.

A burning sun greets visitors to the national youth judo championships on Thursday. The action is fierce inside Huagong Gymnasium, too.

The four-day National Youth Championships from June 24-27 have attracted 194 male judokas and 182 female players in 16 weight categories; together with the 137 technical support staff from the 47 teams, this makes for a total entry of 513 in the Chinese Judo Association-sanctioned event.

With a big crowd in attendance and two mats in operation, organisers were able to test all aspects of a judo championship in a truly competitive environment - ideal preparation for the Asian Games in November.  

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