JUDO: NOMURA BEATEN IN SEMIS IN HAMBURG INT’L MEET
Japan Economic Newswire
February 25, 2007 Sunday 6:07 AM GMT
Three-time Olympic champion Tadahiro Nomura of Japan lost to Cuba’s
Yasmani Piker in the men’s 60-kilogram semifinals at the Super World
Cup in Germany on Saturday.
Piker picked up a "yuko" point in the dying seconds of regulation
when he countered Nomura’s "seoinage" over-the-shoulder throw attempt.
Nomura, however, successfully executed the same throw in his
third-place match against Ruben Houkes of the Netherlands. Hovhannes
Davtyan of Armenia won the title.
"I did a stupid thing," Nomura said of his last-minute seoinage
attempt.
But the 32-year-old, who aims to win his fourth consecutive Olympic
gold medal in Beijing next year, was not overly pessimistic about
his performance in Hamburg.
"I felt that the (seoinage) technique I can count on when I’m wrestling
on the world stage is coming back gradually," Nomura said.
He also used the technique in winning his second-round match.
In the men’s 66-kg category, Athens Olympic gold medalist Masato
Uchishiba suffered a shock defeat in the second round to Miklos
Ungvari of Hungary.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
