Chinese judoka accused of biting as home hope wins Asian Games gold

Nagoya – Japanese judo officials said they had never seen anything like it after eventual champion Rin Maeda appeared to be bitten by her Chinese opponent at the Asian Games.

Maeda was awarded victory in the quarterfinal bout in Nagoya when Tang Jing was disqualified just over a minute into the contest.

Tang appeared to bite Maeda just above the wrist while the pair were clinched on the ground, with Maeda showing the referee visible teeth marks after getting up from the mat.

Judges reviewed the footage and Tang was disqualified.

Japan women’s judo coach Maki Tsukada told sports website The Digest that it was a first for her in her long career in the sport.

“At tournaments like the Asian Games there have been incidents in the past where someone gets punched in the face or their eye swells up,” she said following Thursday’s incident in their 70-kilogram class bout.

“I regret that we hadn’t anticipated that something like this might happen.”

Tsukada said the bite marks were visible despite Maeda wearing protective tape on that part of her arm.

“It was to the point where we thought she might actually start bleeding, but it didn’t go as far as needing disinfection or anything like that,” said Tsukada.

“Still, the teeth marks were clearly and firmly there.”

“I didn’t really care because I was pumped with adrenaline,” Maeda said.

Maeda went on to win gold, beating Kazakhstan’s Azhar Askhat in the final.

“I entered this tournament with a strong determination to win gold,” said the 21-year-old.

“Preparing for a multi-sport event like this was a unique experience, but I was able to prepare properly each day and deliver my best performance.”

Japan’s medal tally at the ongoing Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games increased further Thursday, with Sotaro Fujiwara and Narumi Tanioka also clinching gold medals in judo events.

Fujiwara, who secured gold in the men’s 81-kg category, said, “I’m in a world where people expect results, so I’m relieved.”

Tanioka won gold in the women’s 63-kg category.

Elsewhere in the quadrennial sporting festival held mainly in Aichi Prefecture, Yuri Nakazato added to Japan’s gold haul in wrestling, by winning the men’s Greco-Roman 97-kg event. “I didn’t think that I would win,” he said.

Nakazato’s mother is from Aichi. Saying that many relatives were at the venue cheering him on, Nakazato said, “I had twice as much energy as usual.”

Nao Kusaka clinched silver in the men’s Greco-Roman 77-kg event.

In women’s wrestling, Nonoka Ozaki overpowered a North Korean wrestler in the 62-kg event final to claim a gold medal. “I managed to create a long period of time in which the opponent couldn’t do anything,” she said.

Adding to the host nation’s medal collection, Kurumi Ito secured gold in the women’s kayak single canoe slalom event. “I feel like I’m in a dream,” she said.

In cycling track, Japan won gold in the women’s Madison event, while Kaiya Ota and Kanta Umezawa both took home golds in the men’s sprint and omnium events, respectively.

Ai Mori secured silver in the women’s sport climbing boulder event.