Japanese athletes got off to a positive start at the Paris Olympics, winning four gold medals on the opening weekend of the Games. Team Japan also picked up two silvers and a bronze to top the medal table ahead of Australia after the first two days of action.
Women’s -48 kg, Natsumi Tsunoda of Japan (blue) throws Baasankhuu Bavuudorj of Mongolia during the Paris Grand Slam 2022, IJF World Judo Tour on February 5, 2022 in Paris, France.
Natsumi Tsunoda
Natsumi Tsunoda delivered Japan’s first gold of the Games in the -48 kg judo final on Saturday. Making her debut at the Olympics, the three-time world champion beat the world number one and crowd favorite Shirine Boukli of France by ippon in the quarterfinal before booking her place in the final with a contentious disqualification victory over Swedish teenager Tara Babulfath. Tsunoda then secured the gold after scoring a waza-ari with her signature tomoe-nage throw against Mongolia’s Baasankhuu Bavuudorj.
“It hasn’t hit home yet, but my face hurts,” said Tsunoda laughing. “I was happy that my coach was happy because I had really been aiming for this tournament for a long time.”
Hifumi Abe wins the Tashkent World Senior Championships 2022
Hifumi Abe
Japan’s second judo gold came from Hifumi Abe in the men’s -66 kg competition. He beat Brazil’s Willian Lima by ippon in the final to defend the title he won in Tokyo three years ago. It was a bittersweet day for the Abe family, though, after Hifumi’s sister, Uta, lost to Uzbekistan’s Diyora Keldiyorova in the second round and left the arena in floods of tears.
“This is an unforgettable memory for me,” Hifumi said. “My sister lost today, and it was a very difficult day, but I worked hard with the feeling that I had to do my best to make up for (it). I felt I had no choice but to do my best as the older brother. I was able to keep my emotions in check.” Three years ago, they won gold on the same day.
Coco Yoshizawa
It was a Japan one-two in women’s street skateboarding. Coco Yoshizawa, 14, edged out compatriot Liz Akama, 15, to take the gold. At one stage a clean-sweep looked on the cards for Japan with Funa Nakayama, a bronze medalist from the Tokyo Games, also in contention. However, she failed to register a score on any of her five best trick attempts in the final and ended up in seventh. Yoshizawa is the second successive Japanese Olympic champion in the event. Momiji Nishiya, who took home the gold three years ago, failed to qualify this time around.
“I knew that if I wanted to win, I had to go for the most difficult tricks. I didn’t aim for second or third place; I aimed for the top spot with my highest difficulty moves,” said Yoshizawa after the final.
Koki Kano
Japan’s fourth gold medal on the opening weekend came from Koki Kano. He defeated France’s Yannick Borel 15-9 in the men’s individual epee fencing final to become the first Japanese fencer to top the podium in an individual event. Three years ago, he was one of the star performers for the Japan epee team as they triumphed in Tokyo.
“I wanted to come here and get gold in the individual and I just did it, ” Kano said. “I’m so happy to win gold in the individual event.” Attention will now turn to the team event as Kano and his teammates — Kazuyasu Minobe, Masaru Yamada and Akira Komata — attempt to defend the title they won in 2021.
Other Medalists
Japan’s other medalists over the weekend were Ryuju Nagayama who picked up a bronze in the men’s 60 kg judo competition, and 18-year-old swimmer Tomoyuki Matsushita, who won silver in the men’s 400 individual medley.
