Defensive star Hunt leads charge in Hawaii Bowl rout

HONOLULU — SMU coach June Jones walked out of Aloha Stadium with another win Saturday, thanks largely to a disruptive performance by defensive end Margus Hunt that set the tone for the Mustangs' 43-10 win over Fresno State in the Hawaii Bowl.

Go long: SMU quarterback Garrett Gilbert drops back to pass against Fresno St. during the Hawaii Bowl. SMU won 43-10. AP

Hunt, the 203-cm senior from Estonia with an 82-inch wing span, forced two fumbles that led to field goals and sacked Derek Carr for a safety as SMU (7-6) built a 22-0 halftime lead and never looked back.

The Mustangs also returned two interceptions for touchdowns, giving them eight for the season to tie the NCAA record set last year by Southern Miss. Hayden Greenbauer picked off Carr and returned it 83 yards with 1:14 left, the final blow to a miserable night for the Bulldogs (9-4).

SMU had seven sacks, the most Fresno State has given up all year.

Garrett Gilbert was effective with his arm and his legs, running for a 17-yard touchdown for the first score of the game and throwing a perfect strike to Darius Johnson for a 21-yard score to answer the Bulldogs' only touchdown. He rushed for 98 yards on 18 carries and threw for 212 yards.

But this game was decided by the Mustangs' defense, with Hunt leading the way. He was voted the game's MVP.

Fresno State, which had averaged just over 47 points in its last five games, was held scoreless in the first half for the first time in two years, and Carr was too busy running for his life to get the Bulldogs into any kind of offensive rhythm.

The Mustangs were playing in a school-record fourth straight bowl game since ending a 25-year drought dating to its infamous NCAA death penalty. They have won three of those bowl games, twice as big underdogs to explosive offenses — a 45-10 win over Nevada in 2009 and Saturday against Fresno State, both in the Hawaii Bowl.

That's where Jones feels right at home, even though the flea market earlier in the day drew more people.

He was the coach at Hawaii for eight years, leaving after its unbeaten regular season in 2007. Jones now has won 10 straight games in Aloha Stadium, dating to a December 2006 loss to Oregon State.

"I just want to say 'Aloha' to the seniors," Jones said during the trophy presentation. "We said we were going to do it and we did it."

Without hardly breaking a sweat.

Hunt, who won the Junior World Championships in Beijing in 2006 in the shot put and discus, came to SMU to work on athletics and earned a scholarship when coaches took one look at him, and saw his 4.7-second time in the 40-yard dash. He set an NCAA record this year by blocking his 10th field goal.

His speed made all the difference in his final college game as Hunt zipped around tackles and harassed Carr all night. Carr finished with 362 yards on 33-of-54 passing. The 10 points were the fewest Fresno State has scored since a 20-10 loss to Boise State this year.

The Bulldogs hardly looked like a team averaging 488 yards a game. Carr spent more time on his back than stepping into throws as the Mustangs' defensive front — particularly Hunt — was overwhelming.

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Medlen leads Braves again

ATLANTA — The Rockies couldn't hit Kris Medlen, who threw almost nothing but strikes.

The Braves didn't have to rely on hits against Colorado's Tyler Chatwood, who threw far too many balls.

Chatwood matched his career high with five walks and gave up six runs in only three innings as the Rockies lost to Medlen and Atlanta, 6-1, on Monday.

Chatwood (4-4) gave up six runs, five earned, in only three innings. He gave up only three hits but couldn't overcome the walks.

"There was no consistency to his release point," said Rockies manager Jim Tracy, who said that Chatwood's 74 pitches in three innings "is really not a formula for success."

"He couldn't get his fastball in the strike zone," Tracy said.

By comparison, Medlen was masterful. He threw 111 pitches, including 85 strikes.

Medlen (7-1) struck out a career high 12 to win his sixth straight decision. He allowed five hits without a walk in his second complete game of the season.

"He was terrific," said Tracy of Medlen. "And he's been terrific for a while.

"He had three pitches for strikes whenever he wanted them. Unfortunately, with the way he's been throwing the ball, we pretty much put him in a rocking chair right from the outset."

Medlen extended his streak of scoreless innings to 34?— the Braves' longest since Greg Maddux's 39? in 2000 — before the Rockies scored an unearned run in the seventh.

Medlen appeared in 38 games in relief before moving into the rotation on July 31. He is 6-0 with a 0.54 ERA in seven starts. He spent most of 2011 on the disabled list recovering from elbow ligament-replacement surgery on Aug. 18. 2010.

Medlen was 5-0 as a starter in 2010. Atlanta has won his last 18 starts.

Adding a curveball as a starter, he said, has been "huge."

"You can just attack guys so differently with an extra pitch, an effective pitch, too," he said. "I got a couple strikeouts with it."

Medlen said he is glad he doesn't have to worry about an innings limit, but he noted pitching in relief "was not easy on your arm."

Nationals 2, Cubs 1

In Washington, Ross Detwiler allowed four hits in seven shutout innings and Adam LaRoche homered, giving the Nationals their first winning season with a victory over Chicago.

The NL East-leading Nationals improved to 82-52. The club moved from Montreal to Washington for the 2005 season and went 81-81 that year. In 2008 and 2009, the team lost a combined 205 games, then finished 80-81 in 2011.

Phillies 4, Reds 2

In Cincinnati, Jimmy Rollins hit a three-run homer off Johnny Cueto during a cloudburst that sent fans scurrying for cover, leading Philadelphia over the Reds.

John Mayberry Jr. added a solo homer off Cueto (17-7), who failed in his attempt to become the majors' first 18-game winner. Cueto also lost a day game for the first time this season — he'd been 11-0 in 13 afternoon starts.

Rookie right-hander Tyler Cloyd (1-1) got his first major league hit and win.

Giants 9, Diamondbacks 8 (10)

In San Francisco, Marco Scutaro hit an RBI single in the 10th inning after Buster Posey's tying double in the ninth as the Giants rallied to beat Arizona.

Brandon Crawford beat out a single to short leading off the 10th and moved to second when Brett Pill dropped a sacrifice bunt. Angel Pagan grounded out to first to advance Crawford.

Scutaro sent the final fastball from Bryan Shaw (1-5) past diving third baseman Chris Johnson for San Francisco's seventh walk-off win. Scutaro also doubled and scored the tying run in the ninth to help hand J.J. Putz his second straight blown save.

Astros 5, Pirates 1

In Pittsburgh, Brett Wallace had three hits, including a three-run homer, to lift Houston past the struggling Pirates.

Edgar Gonzalez (1-0) picked up his first win as a starter in more than four years, giving up a run on five hits in 5? innings.

Cardinals 5, Mets 4

In St. Louis, rookie Joe Kelly pitched 6? effective innings and also doubled, and the Cardinals held off New York.

Marlins 7, Brewers 3

In Miami, Jose Reyes drove in three runs and the hosts snapped a four-game losing streak with a victory over Milwaukee.

Carlos Gomez hit a two-run home run in the second for the Brewers. Teammate Norichika Aoki was 2-for-5, and is now batting .286.

Dodgers 4, Padres 3 (11)

In Los Angeles, A.J. Ellis singled in the winning run in the bottom of the 11th, giving the Dodgers a victory over San Diego for their second consecutive walk-off win.

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Tevez leads Man City as champs beat QPR

LONDON — A rejuvenated Carlos Tevez inspired Manchester City to a 3-1 victory over Queens Park Rangers on Saturday, moving the defending champions to within two points of early pacesetter Chelsea in the Premier League.

Eat my dust: Manchester City's Carlos Tevez avoids a tackle by QPR's Nedum Onuoha on Saturday at the Etihad Stadium. City won 3-1. AP

Tevez spent the bulk of last season on strike but has settled his differences with the club and is now back to his best form, scoring for the fourth straight game this campaign and his 50th in the league for City.

The Argentina forward also set up the other two goals, by Yaya Toure and Edin Dzeko, as the team joined surprise packages West Bromwich Albion and Swansea on seven points from three games.

The misery continues, however, for Tottenham and its manager Andre Villas-Boas, who is still searching for the first league win at his new club after a disappointing 1-1 home draw against Norwich on Saturday.

The Portuguese coach was hoping to repair his reputation at White Hart Lane after being fired by Chelsea after just eight months last season, but Robert Snodgrass' 85th-minute equalizer leaves Spurs with just two points from three matches.

After Tottenham was booed off at the final whistle, Villas-Boas said: "I understand why the fans are frustrated . . . we will repay their faith. It is only our third game, so it may take some patience."

Swansea missed the chance to climb to the summit above Chelsea by drawing 2-2 with Sunderland, needing Michu's fourth goal of the season to salvage a point.

West Brom beat Everton 2-0 to go third on goal difference behind Swansea and ahead of City, while West Ham eased past Fulham 3-0 following an encouraging debut from Andy Carroll after his loan move from Liverpool.

Wigan drew 2-2 with Stoke in the other game.

City was in cruise control in the first half, keeping possession well and deservedly going in front when Tevez's volley was deflected into the path of Toure, who fired home left-footed.

However, tiredness appeared to creep into its display in the second half, allowing Bobby Zamora to equalize in the 59th minute for QPR — the team which City beat in dramatic circumstances on the final day of last season to win the title.

Tevez crossed for Dzeko to equalize less than two minutes later, before the Argentine glanced in the third in injury time.

"What we need to take out of this game was how much character and strength we showed," City captain Vincent Kompany said.

After a 2-1 loss at Newcastle and a home draw with West Brom, Villas-Boas will have been hoping for much more against Norwich, which had conceded five goals in its only other away game this season — at Fulham.

However, Moussa Dembele's 68th-minute goal — a fine effort from the edge of the area on his debut after a ?15 million ($23.8 million) move from Fulham — came slightly against the run of play. And Norwich deserved the point earned by Snodgrass' low finish into the corner.

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Kagawa leads way as Japan beats Azerbaijan

Fine-tuning: Shinji Kagawa (left) vies for the ball during Japan's 2-0 win over Azerbaijan on Wednesday. KYODO

FUKUROI, Shizuoka Pref. — Shinji Kagawa showed exactly why he has Manchester United and a host of other leading European clubs on his trail Wednesday, scoring with a cracking finish to put Japan on the way to a 2-0 win over Azerbaijan in a warmup for next month's World Cup qualifiers.

The Borussia Dortmund star struck three minutes before the interval and also had a hand in the second goal, scored by Shinji Okazaki, before making way for Arsenal starlet Ryo Miyaichi to make his eagerly anticipated senior national team debut midway through the second half at Shizuoka Stadium Ecopa.

Hiroki Sakai and Hideto Takahashi also won their first caps and CSKA Moscow midfielder Keisuke Honda had a solid outing after a nine-month injury-related absence in Japan's last game before three World Cup qualifiers against Oman, Jordan and Australia.

Coach Alberto Zaccheroni on Thursday will name his squad for the home qualifiers against Oman and Jordan at Saitama Stadium 2002 on June 3 and 8, respectively, and the trip to Brisbane to meet Australia on June 12. Japan are also drawn against Zico's Iraq in Group B.

"Everything fell into place for the goal," Kagawa said. "But we had a bundle of chances and we probably should have scored more."

Takayuki Morimoto, recalled as cover for injured Southampton striker Tadanari Lee, started up front with Honda in the hole alongside Kagawa and Okazaki.

The Novara hitman thought he had fired Japan in front in the 17th minute, but the linesman was quick to raise his flag for offside, and Kagawa went close moments later when he drilled just wide of the left-hand post.

Honda, looking sharp in his first national team game since scoring in a 3-0 win over South Korea last August, nearly brought the home fans to their feet with a 30-meter free kick that hit the woodwork and Azerbaijan goalkeeper Kamran Aghayev before going out for a corner.

Morimoto only lasted 37 minutes and left the field with an injury and was replaced by Ryoichi Maeda, much to the delight of Jubilo Iwata fans among a crowd of 30,276.

Japan's dominance finally paid off on 42 minutes with a wonderfully worked goal set up by Honda and Makoto Hasebe.

Hasebe collected Honda's flick to pick out Kagawa with a raking pass, and the 23-year-old bamboozled Maksim Medvedev with a clever piece of skill before burying the ball inside the far post.

Azerbaijan missed a good chance to level two minutes into the second half, Jihan Ozaraka creating space with a surging run and blasting into the side netting before Japan doubled their lead.

Honda got on the end of Kagawa's cross to head the ball into the danger zone for Okazaki to scramble home.

"I played just like I always do," Honda said. "Every game I'm in I expect to win, and we did just that so I'm happy. I think I can play a lot better and so can the rest of the team.

"If we play up to our potential, we're good enough to win all three games."

The crowd reserved one of the biggest cheers of the night for Miyaichi as he came on for Kagawa shortly after the hour mark, but the 19-year-old was unable to respond with a goal.

"I was a little nervous out there, but I'm thrilled to have set foot on the pitch for the national side," Miyaichi said. "I expect the qualifiers to be nothing short of difficult."

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Johnson leads TPC; McIlroy misses cut

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Florida — After breaking 70 for the first time in seven weeks, Tiger Woods headed to the back of the practice range at the TPC Sawgrass to fine-tune his swing. That was much better than going to the clubhouse to clean out his locker.

Up there somewhere: Tiger Woods watches his shot from the fairway on the second hole in the second round of The Players Championship on Friday. Woods shot a 68 and is six strokes off the pace. AP

The Players Championship featured Matt Kuchar, Zach John and Kevin Na atop the leaderboard Friday.

What it lacked was some of the golf's biggest names.

Rory McIlroy stumbled to a 76 and became the first player at No. 1 in the world ranking to miss the cut at Sawgrass since Greg Norman in 1996.

Steve Stricker had made a PGA Tour-leading 49 cuts in a row until he shot 74 and ended a streak that began in August 2009.

And with 11 holes left in his round, Woods was two shots over the cut line and in jeopardy of missing back-to-back cuts for the first time in his career.

The thought never crossed his mind.

Instead, he blistered a 5-wood into the breeze on the eighth hole — the toughest par 3 on the course — and watched it catch a slope on the edge of the green and roll 8 feet away from the cup. That was the first of four straight birdies for Woods, who wound up with a 68.

He said he was only thinking about a 66 to get momentum going into the weekend, and he missed by two.

"I was trying to shoot my number today," Woods said. "Sixty-six was my number today. I figured that would have been a good way to go into the weekend, being probably four or five back. But I'm still with a good chance."

Everyone has a chance going into the weekend, including Woods and Phil Mickelson, the Hall of Fame's newest member. They were six shots behind. But they are chasing the gang from Sea Island — home of Kuchar and Johnson, along with PGA Tour rookie Harris English, who was one shot out of the lead.

Johnson made five birdies on the back nine until a bogey on the 18th hole, though he matched the best score of the second round with a 66.

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Utsumi leads Giants in shutout of Tigers

Tetsuya Utsumi had a memorable 30th birthday by pitching seven scoreless innings to lead the Yomiuri Giants to a 2-0 win over the Hanshin Tigers on Sunday.

Many happy returns: Yomiuri's Tetsuya Utsumi pitches during the Giants' 2-0 win over the Tigers on Sunday. KYODO

Utsumi (2-3) combined with two relievers on an eight-hit shutout at Tokyo Dome as the once-struggling Giants won their third straight game. The left-hander scattered seven hits while walking one and striking out three in a 99-pitch outing.

Hanshin put runners in scoring position four times against Utsumi, with the biggest threat a bases-loaded, one-out situation in the sixth.

But Utsumi got former Seattle Mariner Kenji Johjima to hit into a 6-4-3 double play to end the threat.

"I'm glad I got a win on my birthday," Utsumi said. "In the sixth inning, I tried to ease my mind by telling myself I could allow a sacrifice fly and one run would be inevitable.

"When I'm off, I leave my fastball in the middle of the zone in a situation like that. But today was different.

"I've started to throw a two-seam fastball only recently. Before the game, (catcher Shinnosuke) Abe-san told me we were going to use it a lot today. It worked very well."

Backup outfielder Ryuichi Kajimae opened the scoring in the second when he drove in captain Abe from second with a two-out single up the middle off Minoru Iwata (1-4).

"I wanted to get a hit for Utsumi-san in that situation," Kajimae said. "I was determined to go aggressive and swung at the first pitch. The manager put me in the starting lineup yesterday, but I didn't do well.

"Today I was finally able to contribute to the team's win."

Shuichi Murata hit a sacrifice fly to give Yomiuri a much-needed insurance run in the eighth off Daiki Enokida.

Kentaro Nishimura pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his fifth save after Tetsuya Yamaguchi worked the eighth.

Johjima, back in Hanshin's starting lineup for the first time in five games, went hitless in four at-bats, striking out once and hitting into two double plays. Hanshin outhit Yomiuri 8-7.

Carp 3, Swallows 0

Show of strength: Nick Stavinoha (right) and Yusuke Nomura celebrate the Carp's victory over the Swallows on Sunday. KYODO

At Mazda Stadium, rookie Yusuke Nomura (2-1) allowed just one hit over eight innings and Nick Stavinoha hit a two-run homer in the sixth as Hiroshima beat Tokyo Yakult to snap a three-game losing streak.

Jun Hirose delivered an RBI single in the first innng among his three hits. Orlando Roman gave up three runs in six innings for Yakult, whose unbeaten streak ended at seven games.

Dragons 3, BayStars 0

At Nagoya Dome, Shinji Iwata (2-0) struck out 12 and allowed just two hits in seven innings as Chunichi handed Yokohama its fourth consecutive loss.

Hirokazu Ibata and Naomichi Donoue hit RBI singles in the fifth off Yuki Kuniyoshi (0-3) to push Chunichi's lead to 3-0. Hitoki Iwase picked up his 10th save.

PACIFIC LEAGUE

Fighters 4, Eagles 0

At Kleenex Stadium, Terrmel Sledge homered and drove in three runs, Masaru Takeda pitched his second shutout of the season and PL leader Hokkaido Nippon Ham beat Tohoku Rakuten.

Sledge gave Nippon Ham a 1-0 lead in the fourth with a two-out RBI double and added a two-run shot in the sixth off Kenji Tomura (2-1). Takeda (4-0) allowed just two hits and two walks in a 96-pitch outing.

Atsunori Inaba, who recorded his 2,000th career hit on Saturday, went 2-for-4 for Nippon Ham.

Marines 2, Hawks 1

At QVC Marine Field, Yuki Karakawa (4-1) threw his second complete game of the season as Chiba Lotte edged Fukuoka Softbank to snap a three-game losing streak.

Saburo Omura hit a sac fly in the first and Katsuya Kakunaka added a solo homer in the fourth off Sho Iwasaki (2-3). Softbank moved within a run in the ninth, but Katsuki Yamazaki grounded out for the final out with two men on base.

Lions 3, Buffaloes 1

At Kyocera Dome, Shogo Akiyama went 3-for-3 with an RBI, leading Seibu over Orix for its fourth straight victory.

Seibu right-hander Ryoma Nogami (1-1) gave up nine hits but limited the damage to one run in 5? innings for the win. Hiroshi Kisanuki (2-2) took the loss.

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Hakuho rebounds; Baruto still leads

Mongolian yokozuna Hakuho relaunched his bid for a third consecutive title with a satisfying victory over Kisenosato on Wednesday, while Estonian ozeki Baruto also won handsomely to maintain his slender lead heading into the final stretch of the New Year Grand Sumo Tournament.

Kisenosato famously ended Hakuho's 63-bout winning streak at the 2010 Kyushu Basho, but there was only ever going to be one winner in the day's finale as the yokozuna quickly took control at Ryogoku Kokugikan.

Looking to rebound from a shock first loss to Kakuryu on Tuesday, Hakuho wasted no time in grabbing Kisenosato's arm to set himself up for the kill, ushering out the ozeki to move into double digits at 10-1.

Kisenosato dropped to 9-2 in his debut at sumo's second rank, tied with rank-and-filer Tochiozan.

In the preceding bout, ozeki Harumafuji (8-3) stood no chance as a scowling Baruto ripped into the Mongolian with a flurry of meaty thrusts, easily shoving him over the straw bales.

Former night club bouncer Baruto, whose easy smile and quirky sense of humor has endeared him to sumo fans, is seeking his first Emperor's Cup.

Ozeki Kotooshu dropped further off the pace as Kakuryu claimed another major scalp, the Mongolian sekiwake picking his moment to upend the Bulgarian with a perfectly executed "shitatenage" underarm throw, leaving both men at 8-3.

"I am just trying to wrestle my brand of sumo in each bout and hopefully can keep going strong through the end of the tournament," said Kakuryu.

Kotoshogiku, who has been frustratingly inconsistent in his second tournament at ozeki, moved back into the winning column at 6-5 with a routine forceout win over fourth-ranked maegashira Homasho (5-6).

Sekiwake Toyonoshima traipsed back to the locker room contemplating a majority of losses after being rammed out by top-ranked maegashira Takekaze with alarming ease, while it was a day of mixed fortunes for sumo's fourth rank of komusubi.

Wakakoyu slapped down No. 2 maegashira Okinoumi (2-9) to pick up only his third win, but Miyabiyama was sent out by a pulling overarm throw and condemned to a losing record by Aminishiki (6-5).

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Wild Oats XI leads annual yacht race

SYDNEY — Favored supermaxi Wild Oats XI, winner of line honors in five of the past six years, led a fleet of 88 yachts out of Sydney Harbour and soon established a good lead at the start of the annual Sydney to Hobart yacht race on Monday.

Wild Oats XI sailed between Sydney Heads and into open ocean with a narrow lead over its main rivals Investec Loyal and Wild Thing in the 67th edition of the race. Crew immediately hoisted a spinnaker and Wild Oats headed down the east coast of New South Wales state with a 20 knot tail wind and on heavy swells.

The fleet was expected to sail into a southerly front on Monday night with headwinds of up to 40 knots, making any challenge to Wild Oats' 2005 race record time unlikely.

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Dempsey leads Fulham past Liverpool in ill-tempered match

LONDON — United States midfielder Clint Dempsey brought Liverpool's eight-match unbeaten run in the Premier League to an end on Monday, pouncing on a late error by goalkeeper Pepe Reina to earn Fulham a 1-0 at Craven Cottage and ease his team's relegation worries.

The Spain 'keeper failed to hold a speculative shot by former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy in the 85th minute, and Dempsey slotted home the rebound from close range for Fulham's third win of the campaign to lift the London club five points clear of the bottom three.

The visitors had been reduced to 10 men by that point after defensive midfielder Jay Spearing was sent off in the 72nd minute for an overzealous tackle on Moussa Dembele, at a time when they were on top and threatening a win that would have lifted them above Newcastle to sixth.

Liverpool hit the goal frame twice, through Jordan Henderson in the first half and substitute Stewart Downing just before Dempsey's winner, while Luis Suarez had a goal harshly disallowed for offside in the 67th.

But Spearing's dismissal was the turning point in a fractious match. There was nothing wrong with the youngster's initial full-blooded tackle but he followed through by catching the Belgium forward's leg, leading referee Kevin Friend to brandish the red card.

"He has won the ball but he has probably upset the referee with his follow through," said Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish, whose team lost for the first time since Sept. 18 to dent its hopes of keeping pace with its rivals for the Champions League positions.

Fulham manager Martin Jol said the sending off was the pivotal moment in the game, which threatened to boil over a number of times — particularly when Dempsey went forehead-to-forehead with Craig Bellamy at the start of the second half.

"After the sending off, we had a little bit more space and took advantage of that," Jol said. "I thought it was a bad tackle. I thought it was a sending off."

Dempsey's 37th goal in the Premier League made him the most prolific American scorer in England's top division, surpassing the record he shared with former Fulham striker Brian McBride.

He nearly gave Fulham the lead minutes prior to eventually grabbing the winner, curling a shot against the bar before Downing went up the other end and smashed a fierce drive that was touched onto the post by goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer in the 84th.

"I think we would have taken something from the game if we had been left with all our men," Dalglish said. "I think we did enough to come away with something."

PARIS — Barcelona teammates Lionel Messi and Xavi Hernandez will be up against Real Madrid winger Cristiano Ronaldo for the FIFA world player of the year award.

The three Ballon d'Or finalists were selected Monday from among 23 nominees. Messi beat Barcelona teammates Andres Iniesta and Xavi to win last year.

Messi also won the award two years ago when France Football magazine chose the best player in Europe. The Ballon d'Or is now merged with FIFA's player of the year award to create one trophy.

Messi and Ronaldo already have scored 17 league goals this season. They play each other in the Spanish League on Saturday.

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Asami leads four judo winners in Rio

Rio de Janeiro — World champion Haruna Asami won the women's 48-kg division and Japanese judoka ended up taking four of Saturday's seven events at the Grand Slam meet in Rio de Janeiro.

Asami defeated home favorite Sarah Menezes in the final.

The other Japanese winners on the opening day of the two-day meet were Kana Abe in the women's 63 kg, Hirofumi Yamamoto in the men's 60 kg and Riki Nakaya in the men's 73 kg.

Hiroyuki Akimoto, another world champion, was eliminated in the quarterfinals of the event won by Nakaya.

Hiroaki Hiraoka and Masashi Ebinuma were knocked out in the semifinals of the men's 60 kg and 66 kg categories, respectively.

This year's world championships will be held in Paris in August.

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