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15834
Thu, 08/14/2008 - 09:45
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https://oananews.org//node/15834
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LEAD: Olympics: Japan's Ueno defends Olympic title
BEIJING, Aug. 13 Kyodo - From the looks of things Japan's female judoka are just getting fired up. They should be in orbit in the next few days.
Masae Ueno won Japan's second Olympic gold in two days, storming her way to the top podium spot to successfully defend her title at 70 kilograms with an ippon victory in the final over Anaysi Hernandez of Cuba at the Beijing Games onWednesday.
Ueno, the 2004 Athens Olympics champion, wasted little time with the Cuban, pulling out Hernandez's legs with one hand while shoving her down 46 seconds into the match for an emphatic win at Beijing Science and Technology UniversityGymnasium.
After Ueno threw down her opponent she proceeded to place her in a submissionhold even though the match was already over.
''I thought it was an ippon but my opponent was still hanging on to me, so I thought maybe it wasn't a full score and went for a hold. When I looked at thescoreboard I saw it was an ippon,'' said Ueno.
After her win in Athens, Ueno had a drop in motivation and made a first-round exit at the 2005 world championships. She even considered retirement at the time but determined to claw her way back to the top, despite struggling with aseries of injuries.
''I was happier with my win in Athens. This time, however, I feel that I really exerted myself to the fullest extent. I feel relieved and filled with satisfaction.'' In the semifinals, Ueno dispatched of Dutchwoman Edith Bosch, countering an armthrow by her opponent with an inner-thigh sweep to win on points.
She got off to a flying start, picking off her opponents like flies in winningher first three matches by ippon to reach the semifinals.
Ueno won her first match against South Korea's Park Ka Yeon in dominant fashion with a rear submission hold for ippon after scoring a point for an outer-legtrip.
Later she scored an ippon with an inner-thigh sweep of China's Wang Juan with 58 seconds left, and then finished off Hungary's Anett Meszaros with an inner-leg trip before placing her in a lengthwise submission just 1:04 into thematch.
Bosch, who took one of the bronze medals, praised the Japanese champion for hersolid performance.
''I hope I have another chance to fight her and hope I can win. But I want to say I have a lot of respect for her. She was out for one year and she cameback. So, respect,'' said Bosch.
Ronda Rousey of the United States won the bronze to become the first American to win a judo medal since women's judo made its Olympic debut at the 1992Barcelona Games.
''I didn't know about that until reporters told me today. It surprised me but it was just frosting on my cake. It's just a cool fact, but I was already happybefore,'' said Rousey.
Meanwhile, more misery was in store for the Japanese men as Athens Olympic silver medalist Hiroshi Izumi lost in the second round of the men's 90 kg andfailed to advance to the repechage stage.
Izumi saw his gold medal bid end with a second-round loss to Andrei Kazusenok of Belarus. He was toppled to the mat when the 2005 world bronze medalistpulled out his leg for an ippon.
Izumi later said that he had struggled to lose weight but refused to make excuses.
''I really don't know how to accept this result. I wasn't able to perform well in any way today,'' the 26-year-old said, adding that he will be extremelydisappointed if the Beijing Games are the curtain closer to his career.
Izumi had looked nervous from the start of the day and was made to work in a grueling first match against Daniel Kelly before beating his Australianopponent on points with an inner-leg trip in overtime.
Irakli Tsirekidze of Georgia beat Algeria's Amar Benikhlef for the gold.
In women's judo, Ryoko Tani (48 kg) and Misato Nakamura (52 kg) took bronze medals on the first two days for Japan while Ayumi Tanimoto (63 kg) defended her Olympic title on Tuesday. Masato Uchishiba (66 kg) won his second straightgold to win the only medal for Japanese men thus far.
Masae Ueno won Japan's second Olympic gold in two days, storming her way to the top podium spot to successfully defend her title at 70 kilograms with an ippon victory in the final over Anaysi Hernandez of Cuba at the Beijing Games onWednesday.
Ueno, the 2004 Athens Olympics champion, wasted little time with the Cuban, pulling out Hernandez's legs with one hand while shoving her down 46 seconds into the match for an emphatic win at Beijing Science and Technology UniversityGymnasium.
After Ueno threw down her opponent she proceeded to place her in a submissionhold even though the match was already over.
''I thought it was an ippon but my opponent was still hanging on to me, so I thought maybe it wasn't a full score and went for a hold. When I looked at thescoreboard I saw it was an ippon,'' said Ueno.
After her win in Athens, Ueno had a drop in motivation and made a first-round exit at the 2005 world championships. She even considered retirement at the time but determined to claw her way back to the top, despite struggling with aseries of injuries.
''I was happier with my win in Athens. This time, however, I feel that I really exerted myself to the fullest extent. I feel relieved and filled with satisfaction.'' In the semifinals, Ueno dispatched of Dutchwoman Edith Bosch, countering an armthrow by her opponent with an inner-thigh sweep to win on points.
She got off to a flying start, picking off her opponents like flies in winningher first three matches by ippon to reach the semifinals.
Ueno won her first match against South Korea's Park Ka Yeon in dominant fashion with a rear submission hold for ippon after scoring a point for an outer-legtrip.
Later she scored an ippon with an inner-thigh sweep of China's Wang Juan with 58 seconds left, and then finished off Hungary's Anett Meszaros with an inner-leg trip before placing her in a lengthwise submission just 1:04 into thematch.
Bosch, who took one of the bronze medals, praised the Japanese champion for hersolid performance.
''I hope I have another chance to fight her and hope I can win. But I want to say I have a lot of respect for her. She was out for one year and she cameback. So, respect,'' said Bosch.
Ronda Rousey of the United States won the bronze to become the first American to win a judo medal since women's judo made its Olympic debut at the 1992Barcelona Games.
''I didn't know about that until reporters told me today. It surprised me but it was just frosting on my cake. It's just a cool fact, but I was already happybefore,'' said Rousey.
Meanwhile, more misery was in store for the Japanese men as Athens Olympic silver medalist Hiroshi Izumi lost in the second round of the men's 90 kg andfailed to advance to the repechage stage.
Izumi saw his gold medal bid end with a second-round loss to Andrei Kazusenok of Belarus. He was toppled to the mat when the 2005 world bronze medalistpulled out his leg for an ippon.
Izumi later said that he had struggled to lose weight but refused to make excuses.
''I really don't know how to accept this result. I wasn't able to perform well in any way today,'' the 26-year-old said, adding that he will be extremelydisappointed if the Beijing Games are the curtain closer to his career.
Izumi had looked nervous from the start of the day and was made to work in a grueling first match against Daniel Kelly before beating his Australianopponent on points with an inner-leg trip in overtime.
Irakli Tsirekidze of Georgia beat Algeria's Amar Benikhlef for the gold.
In women's judo, Ryoko Tani (48 kg) and Misato Nakamura (52 kg) took bronze medals on the first two days for Japan while Ayumi Tanimoto (63 kg) defended her Olympic title on Tuesday. Masato Uchishiba (66 kg) won his second straightgold to win the only medal for Japanese men thus far.
