Suzuki tumbles, Nakazawa also ousted in Beijing

Friday 15th August, 07:13 AM JST

Beijing —

The Japanese men solidified their lowly status in the most disappointing Olympics yet on Thursday with a crushing opening-round defeat by gold-medal hope Keiji Suzuki in the 100-kilograms category. And just when they thought they had liftoff, the engines also ceased for Japan’s female judoka, with Sae Nakazawa losing her first match at 78 kg to Athens bronze medalist Lucia Morico of Italy and failing to advance to the repechage round. Suzuki, the 2004 Athens Olympic champion at over 100 kg, never got his offense up to speed against Tuvshinbayar Naidan and was sent tumbling onto his back when the unheralded Mongolian scooped up his legs and tackled him after 1 minute, 26 seconds at Beijing Science and Technology University Gymnasium. Naidan went on to become Mongolia’s first-ever Olympic gold medalist with a win over Kazakhstan’s Askhat Zhitkeyev in the final. Suzuki had a chance to win at least a bronze but again appeared sluggish in his repechage match, losing after just 34 seconds to little-known German Benjamin Behrla by a similar leg-pulling technique. After his defeat, the 28-year-old Ibaraki native remained on the mat kneeling with his head bowed between his knees, almost as if he were begging forgiveness.

Nakazawa, the 2007 world silver medalist, was hoping to follow the winning ways of compatriots Ayumi Tanimoto (63 kg) and Masae Ueno (70 kg), who have successfully defended their respective titles in dominant fashion in the past two days. But the 25-year-old fell flat in her match in her Olympic debut against Morico and lost on points. ‘‘I was in good condition but my body wasn’t moving naturally the way I wanted it to. I feel disappointed that I wasn’t able to produce my best effort,’’ said a teary-eyed Nakazawa. China’s Yang Xiuli beat Cuban Yalennis Castillo in the final to win the 78-kg gold.

Kyodo

8 Comments

LIBERTAS at 09:33 AM JST - 15th August

He's being reported as being like Nakata after Japan's FIFA defeat, a big wuss. Can nobody in the JOC teach the concept of sportsmanship? Check out: http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=080814115426.djbhz0kx&show_article=1
TheCode at 11:33 AM JST - 15th August

At least he didn't do this:

http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/news?slug=reu-wrestling&prov=reuters&type=lgns

Then again, he could learn a bit of sportsmanship from his own compatriots like Matsuda (who won the bronze in swimming) who was all smiles, and showed even more emotion than the gold and silver medalists. He even went over and gave his bronze medal to the coach who has admired so much for all these years.

He could also learn some sportsmanship from the gymnast Uchimura, who even though he didn't win gold, he was well-mannered enough to walk in front of the podium, and shake hands with his competitors. And it was stirring to see him mild-manneredly pick himself up after two falls of the pommel horse and still complete his routine. He never showed any disgust or tears.

He could also learn some sportsmanship from the badminton duo of Maeda and Suetsuna after they had lost to the Korean ladies (who themselves were not showing good sportsmanship) in the semifinals. These two classy ladies never pouted and complained to the refs (which the Korean ladies did a lot of in their match).
pathat at 12:56 PM JST - 15th August

Perhaps the reactions of some Japanese judoka should be considered in the light of the sport we are talking about, where the sport comes from, and how the Japanese perceive themselves and the rest of the world-as opposed to how they react when faced with losses in most other sports.
chardk1 at 01:07 PM JST - 15th August

It's tough. That was a monumental choke job and Suzuki, the Japanese media and fans, everyone knows it so it's hard to say "well, he gave it his best and sometimes these things happen." Suzuki won gold before so he isn't going to be remembered as a loser or anything but this performance was inexplicably bad and that's what has everyone shocked. It's as if the US men's basketball team tried hard, was healthy and still didn't get out of the qualifying round -- you just can't explain it.
TheCode at 01:13 PM JST - 15th August

http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/beijing/blog/fourthplacemedal/post/Wrestler-throws-medal-MSNBC-doesn-t-care?urn=oly,100857

This article states:

"In a temper tantrum befitting a 2-year-old, Swedish wrestler Ara Abrahamian threw his bronze medal to the mat, and walked off the podium. This was after he had to be held back from attacking the judges in a controversial semifinal loss to Italian Andrea Minguzzi. If you just watched MSNBC's coverage of Greco-Roman wrestling, you would have just seen the story of American Adam Wheeler's unlikely bronze, and Minguzzi dancing and flipping after winning gold. Abrahamian's tantrum, along with the upsets of several top wrestlers including Egyptian Karam Gaber and American Dremiel Byers, were not even discussed, much less shown. What gives, NBC?"

It looks like a lot of competitors are not showing "sportsmanship" in this Olympics.
chibaman at 06:44 PM JST - 15th August

I liked Suzuki, but there's something pretty pathetic about a 100kg man crying his way off the mats.
romulus3 at 09:46 PM JST - 15th August

he won nothing since 2005 so why cry? I understand if you lost in the gold medal bout that you may be permitted to cry but I cannot understand why Japanese athletes who are clearly not in the running for a medal cry because they lost. I mean no one cries when they lose to Federer. They are just happy to be there. To even make it that far that you could compete with elite athletes is an achievement. Have some pride. Are thay that deluded that they think they can win against superior athletes? I mean what in their results over the past 4 years have suggested that they can even get close?
MPNiea at 12:41 AM JST - 16th August

I think it is about time Japan Today starts closing comments on topics concerning the behavior of the Olympians. What does it matter how these competitors behave? Who are you to judge them? I certainly am not even close to the greatness of these individuals, and I'm sure none of you are either. If anyone is to make a comparison, how about looking back at how the Olympics began in Greece? So enough of this talk about proper behavior at a series of tournaments that were originally bloodsports.