Judoka Ebinuma earns place in London Olympics

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.

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