Japanese wrestling champ upset in Asian Games
The first day of the Asian Games women's wrestling competition was a forgettable one for favourite Japan.
Seven-time world champion Hitomi Sakamoto was upset by North Korean teenager So Sim-hyang in the semi-finals of the 48kg division on Thursday.
So, a bronze medallist in last year's world championships, pulled off a 3-1 victory over her fancied Japanese opponent. The 18-year-old tackled Sakamoto in the first period and executed the same manoeuvre
twice in the second to seal the win.
So went on to win the gold by beating Vietnam's Nguyen Thi Lua 5-0 in the final.
Sakamoto settled for the bronze after beating Kyrgyzstan's Mikhrniso Nurmatova 5-0 in the third-place bout. The other bronze was won by South Korean Kim Hyung-joo, who beat Cambodian Chov Sotheara 3-0.
North Korea coach Pak Jong-jin was all praises for his ward. "She did a good job, really, and we will keep working hard to perform well in the future," he told AFP.
Sakamoto, on the other hand, was disappointed with her performance.
"I can't believe it happened. I can't repay the people who support me," the 29-year-old said.
The Japanese, who got married just before the Guangzhou meet, said the loss prompted her to train harder for the 2012 London Olympics.
"I will reflect on it and take a lesson from it, which will benefit my performance at the London Olympics."
Meanwhile, Iran added one more gold medal to their treasure chest courtesy of Reza Yazdani in the men's 96kg division. The 26-year-old defeated Uzbekistan's Kurban Kurbanov 3-1 in the final. His victory
increased Iran's production in the wrestling competition to seven golds.
Takao Isokawa of Japan and Mausam Khatri of India settled for the bronze medals. Isokawa defeated Tajikistan's Farkhod Anakulov 3-0 while Khatri beat South Korean Kim Jae-gang 3-1.
In the men's 120kg freestyle event, Artur Taymazov of Uzbekistan lived up to his top billing by adding another title to his collection. The two-time defending Olympic champion conquered Chuluunbat Jargalsaikhan
of Mongolia 3-0 in the final to claim his third successive Asian Games crown.
Taymazov, who won a silver at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, is also a two-time world champion. He is a silver medallist in this year's world championships in Moscow, losing to local bet Beylal Makhov in the
final.
Liang Lei of China and Fardin Masoumi Valadi of Iran shared the bronze medals. The Chinese defeated Hudayberdy Sahatov of Turkmenistan 3-0 while the Iranian dominated Nurzhan Katayev of Kazakhstan 5-0.
The final day of the wrestling competition will be held on Friday.
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