World champion Remina YOSHIMOTO (JPN) had one small stumble early in the final, but it was smooth sailing the rest of the way as she cruised to her first senior Asian title.
Yoshimoto scored a late fall over home favorite Namuuntsetseg TSOGTOCHIR (MGL) in the 50kg final, and powerhouse Japan took three of the five titles at stake as the women’s competition started Thursday at the Asian Championships.
With China missing from the tournament due to travel issues as well as the DPR Korea, the women’s fields had limited entries and all five weight classes competed in a group stage.
Yoshimoto showed the domination that propelled her to the world title last year in Oslo when she needed just 2:13 to win her two group matches with a technical fall and fall, then made the final with a 10-0 technical fall in 1:07.
In the gold-medal bout, Yoshimoto lost her balance when Tsogtochir slipped away from a tackle attempt, allowing the Mongolian to rush her and gain a takedown. That got the partisan crowd at the Buyant Ukhaa Sports Palace vocally involved.
“The crowd was really something, but this [my opponent’s] country, so there’s nothing I can do about it, it’s only natural,” Yoshimoto said. “I tried not to pay attention to during the match.”
There would be no more slipups, as Yoshimoto built up a 6-2 lead in the first period, and added six more points before ending the match by fall at 5:04.
“I allowed her to get points, which made the match more touch-and-go,” Yoshimoto said. “I need to reflect on [that mistake].”
The match gives Yoshimoto, a student at powerhouse Shigakkan University, something to work on.
Source and image: www.uww.org
