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.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to