TOKYO, Japan, Sept 12, (AFP): Hosts Japan grabbed three out of four gold medals on offer at the world judo championships in Tokyo on Sunday, with every previous title-holder falling along the way.
Haruna Asami won a shock victory over Tomoko Fukumi in the women’s under-48kg final, while in the women’s under-52kg, another all-Japanese affair, Yuka Nishida triumphed over Misaki Nakamura.
In the men’s under-66kg, Japan’s world junior champion Junpei Morishita outpointed Mongolian defending champion Tsagaanbaatar Hashbaatar in the quarter-finals, then dumped unfancied Brazilian Leandro Cunha to take the title.
Rishod Sobirov lifted Uzbekistan’s first-ever world title by beating defending men’s under-60kg champion Georgii Zantaraia of Ukraine.
Japan, who swept all three titles on offer on Saturday, surged ahead on the medal table with eight golds to tie their all-time high recorded in 1999.
France followed with two golds, while Greece, South Korea, the United States and Uzbekistan had one each.
The world championships were to close on Monday with men’s and women’s open categories.
In the women’s under-48kg on Sunday, Fukumi, who won two Grand Slam events in Tokyo and Rio de Janeiro after securing the world title last year, received a warning twice to give Asami a yuko point for the victory.
It was Asami’s great revenge over her compatriot, after she lost to Fukumi in the national championships final in April.

“I’ve been under various kinds of pressure. But a champion is required to overcome all such things to win,” said 25-year-old Fukumi. “I will take one match at a time by looking at my weaknesses.”
Nishida upset Nakamura in the women’s under-52kg final, after Nakamura won two Grand Slams and the Masters since the last world championships.
Nishida, who came third in the 2007 championships, narrowly beat Nakamura by a 3-0 decision after scoreless extra time. Nakamura, 21, was seen attempting leg throws to no avail.
“I thought I would never be selected for the London Olympics if I lost here,” said Nishida, 24. “Different referees may have made a different decision. I want to chase Nakamura always as a challenger.”
Sobirov, who won the bronze medal at the Beijing Olympics, scored a near-perfect waza-ari twice for a combined ippon to finish off Zantaraia four minutes 37 seconds into the men’s 60kg final.
“I feel proud and honoured to win the first gold medal for Uzbekistan,” the 23-year-old said. “I have studied Zantaraia through a number of our previous encounters.”
Sobirov lost to Zantaria in their last clash in the semi-finals at the Tunis Grand Prix in May.
Morishita dominated the 66kg final, throwing Cunha onto the floor for an ippon two minutes 59 seconds into the bout.
He said his quarter-final clash with the Mongolian champion was tougher.
“I knew he was strong as he ranked number one in the world. But I never held myself back,” the 20-year-old Morishita said.
“I pushed forward and forward, trying to make an attempt before him.”
The 26-year-old Hashbaatar fought back through the consolation round to claim one of the two bronzes.