Fukuoka — Masashi Ebinuma scored an ippon to beat rival Jumpei Morishita in the men's 66-kg final at the judo national invitational weight-class championships Saturday, effectively securing his spot for this summer's London Olympics.The 22-year-old Ebinuma, winner of the gold medal at last year's judo world championships in Paris, made his berth for London all but a formality as the top seed with his third consecutive title, along with Yoshie Ueno, who triumphed in the women's 63-kg category for the first time in two years."The pressure will be intense at the Olympics, so I want to be able to show my resolve with a better and highly spirited performance in London," said Ebinuma. "My dream is to win the gold medal, so this is just the starting line."World champion Riki Nakaya won his first title in the men's 73-kg class — one of the categories Japanese men are expected to win gold at the Summer Games. Hiroyuki Akimoto crashed out with a first-round loss at Fukuoka Kokusai center.Hiroaki Hiraoka took the men's 60-kg crown for the fifth straight year.Mika Sugimoto got revenge against Kanae Yamabe in a rematch to win the women's over 78-kg crown for the fourth year in a row after losing to Yamabe on points in the final of the women's national championship in April.Women's judoka Akari Ogata (78 kg) and Haruka Tachimoto (70 kg) claimed their first titles.The All Japan Judo Federation will make an official announcement of those selected to compete at the London Games at a meeting following the conclusion of the national invitational meet on Sunday.
Showing posts with label London. Show all posts
Showing posts with label London. Show all posts
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Japan punches ticket to London Olympics
Japan booked its ticket to the London Olympic men's soccer tournament with a 2-0 win over Bahrain on Wednesday night.
See you in London: Hiroshi Kiyotake scores Japan's second goal against Bahrain on Wednesday at National Stadium. KYODOThe Under-23 team went into the match at National Stadium needing only a draw to make sure of its place at this year's Summer Games, but goals from Takahiro Ogihara and Hiroshi Kiyotake early in the second half allowed Takashi Sekizuka's side to top qualifying Group C in comfort.This summer's July 26-Aug. 11 tournament will be Japan's fifth successive Olympic appearance, with a bronze medal in Mexico City in 1968 the high-water mark to aim for.Japan could have qualified even in defeat with a strong goal difference providing a buffer from nearest rivals Bahrain and Syria, but Sekizuka was taking no chances as he fielded an experienced lineup. Full internationals Kiyotake and Genki Haraguchi took their places alongside Borussia Monchengladbach striker Yuki Otsu, but it was Omiya Ardija midfielder Keigo Higashi who almost opened the scoring when he hit a rasping shot from outside the box with only two minutes on the clock.Bahrain managed to keep Japan quiet until Haraguchi headed straight at goalkeeper Ebrahim Lutfalla in the 21st minute, but the visitors grew in confidence as the first half wore on and Hiroki Sakai was lucky not to gift them the lead when he headed over his own bar shortly before the interval.But with Japan still struggling to find any fluency as play resumed after the break, Ogihara made the breakthrough. Haraguchi made a smart cutback from the left in the 53rd minute, and the 20-year-old Cerezo Osaka midfielder opened up his body to coolly side-foot the ball past Lutfalla.The impact was immediate. Kiyotake added a second six minutes later as Japan clicked into gear, rifling a shot from the edge of the area after Higashi had shredded the Bahrain defense again down the left wing.Kiyotake hit the post soon after as Japan threatened to run riot, but not even the substitute appearance of livewire striker Kensuke Nagai could conjure up another as the home side eased down toward the final whistle.The draw for the 16-team final tournament will take place on April 24. Nadeshiko Japan have already qualified for the women's competition.WARSAW — Japan will play five-time world champion Brazil in a friendly international in the Polish city of Wroclaw on Oct. 16, Reuters reported Tuesday.Reuters quoted Wroclaw mayor Rafal Dutkiewicz as saying on the city stadium's official website, "Japan and Brazil want to play in Europe and we are lucky enough to be (located) right in between.""We bet that after the Euro emotions in June there will still be hunger for more spectacular matches," he said.Wroclaw is one of the four cities in Poland that will stage matches during Euro 2012.LONDON — Germany striker Mario Gomez scored four goals, leading Bayern Munich into the Champions League quarterfinals Tuesday with a 7-0 rout of FC Basel.A week after Lionel Messi became the first player to score five goals in a Champions League match, Gomez became the eighth to hit four as Bayern overcame a 1-0 first-leg deficit to advance 7-1.Arjen Robben also scored twice for Bayern, which was joined in the next round by Marseille despite the French club's 2-1 defeat at Inter Milan.
See you in London: Hiroshi Kiyotake scores Japan's second goal against Bahrain on Wednesday at National Stadium. KYODOThe Under-23 team went into the match at National Stadium needing only a draw to make sure of its place at this year's Summer Games, but goals from Takahiro Ogihara and Hiroshi Kiyotake early in the second half allowed Takashi Sekizuka's side to top qualifying Group C in comfort.This summer's July 26-Aug. 11 tournament will be Japan's fifth successive Olympic appearance, with a bronze medal in Mexico City in 1968 the high-water mark to aim for.Japan could have qualified even in defeat with a strong goal difference providing a buffer from nearest rivals Bahrain and Syria, but Sekizuka was taking no chances as he fielded an experienced lineup. Full internationals Kiyotake and Genki Haraguchi took their places alongside Borussia Monchengladbach striker Yuki Otsu, but it was Omiya Ardija midfielder Keigo Higashi who almost opened the scoring when he hit a rasping shot from outside the box with only two minutes on the clock.Bahrain managed to keep Japan quiet until Haraguchi headed straight at goalkeeper Ebrahim Lutfalla in the 21st minute, but the visitors grew in confidence as the first half wore on and Hiroki Sakai was lucky not to gift them the lead when he headed over his own bar shortly before the interval.But with Japan still struggling to find any fluency as play resumed after the break, Ogihara made the breakthrough. Haraguchi made a smart cutback from the left in the 53rd minute, and the 20-year-old Cerezo Osaka midfielder opened up his body to coolly side-foot the ball past Lutfalla.The impact was immediate. Kiyotake added a second six minutes later as Japan clicked into gear, rifling a shot from the edge of the area after Higashi had shredded the Bahrain defense again down the left wing.Kiyotake hit the post soon after as Japan threatened to run riot, but not even the substitute appearance of livewire striker Kensuke Nagai could conjure up another as the home side eased down toward the final whistle.The draw for the 16-team final tournament will take place on April 24. Nadeshiko Japan have already qualified for the women's competition.WARSAW — Japan will play five-time world champion Brazil in a friendly international in the Polish city of Wroclaw on Oct. 16, Reuters reported Tuesday.Reuters quoted Wroclaw mayor Rafal Dutkiewicz as saying on the city stadium's official website, "Japan and Brazil want to play in Europe and we are lucky enough to be (located) right in between.""We bet that after the Euro emotions in June there will still be hunger for more spectacular matches," he said.Wroclaw is one of the four cities in Poland that will stage matches during Euro 2012.LONDON — Germany striker Mario Gomez scored four goals, leading Bayern Munich into the Champions League quarterfinals Tuesday with a 7-0 rout of FC Basel.A week after Lionel Messi became the first player to score five goals in a Champions League match, Gomez became the eighth to hit four as Bayern overcame a 1-0 first-leg deficit to advance 7-1.Arjen Robben also scored twice for Bayern, which was joined in the next round by Marseille despite the French club's 2-1 defeat at Inter Milan.Sunday, January 22, 2012
Rams headed back to London
LONDON — The St. Louis Rams took the first step to becoming Britain's "home" team Friday, agreeing to play a regular-season NFL game in London in each of the next three seasons.And first up are the New England Patriots, who are two wins from another Super Bowl title.The Rams and Patriots meet at Wembley on Oct. 28, about two months after the closing ceremony of the London Olympics. That will be followed by games at Wembley against undetermined opponents in 2013 and 2014.The Rams are owned by Stan Kroenke, who is also the majority shareholder in the English soccer club Arsenal. The team will give up home games in St. Louis for the three seasons they are in London.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Radcliffe chosen for London Games
London — Marathon world record holder Paula Radcliffe has been selected for her fifth Summer Olympics after she was included in Britain's team for next year's London Games.The 37-year-old Radcliffe completed her first marathon in two years in September's Berlin Marathon and has been picked alongside fellow marathon runners Mara Yamauchi and Scott Overall as the first track and field competitors for the host nation.After a series of injuries, Radcliffe ran 2 hours, 23 minutes, 46 seconds in Berlin. It was her fastest time in four years but 8:21 slower than her 2003 world record.Radcliffe says "to represent your country at a home Olympics is something special and I'm over the moon to be selected for Team GB."
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