World University Games: Japan, China, Korea win four gold medals; India gain 3 on Day 2

Asian rivals Japan, China and South Korea won four gold medals apiece while India bagged three medals on the second day

Chengdu: Asian rivals Japan, China and South Korea won four gold medals apiece while India bagged three medals on the second day of competitions at the 31st World University Games here on Saturday.

Japan won four out of the five gold medals and South Korea bagged the other on the first day of the judo competition on Saturday. China’s Cao Maoyuan clinched the first gold medal of the Games in the men’s Nanquan of Wushu competition, as the hosts dominated the stage, securing all four gold medals on the first competition day on Saturday.

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Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura won the men’s 60kg category, defeating Tokyo Olympic silver medalist Yang Yung-Wei from Chinese Taipei, reports Xinhua. “I made full preparation before the final, but it is a pity that I did not seize the opportunities,” Yang said.

The men’s 66kg final saw a quick and overwhelming bout when Shinsei Hattori of Japan beat Radu Izvoreanu of Moldova by an ippon in one second. Japan’s Hikari Yoshioka and Hibiki Shiraishi were crowned in the women’s 48kg and 52kg categories respectively.

South Korean Huh Mimi clinched the women’s 57kg title. Being one of the three optional sports in Chengdu, Wushu made only its second appearance at the Universiade, after its debut in 2017.

Cao led the men’s Nanquan event with 9.770 points, besting Lau Chi Lung of Hong Kong, China, and Shahin Banitalebi of Iran. “I’ve been eagerly anticipating the Universiade for a long time. Winning the first gold feels good,” said the Sichuan local Cao.

“It’s challenging to describe what Wushu means to me. It’s an integral part of my life, and it has altered my family’s destiny.” Team China maintained its advantages in the Wushu competition with three more titles in women’s Nandao, men’s Changquan, and women’s Tajiquan. Hui Tak Yan Samuei of Hong Kong, China, and Nandhira Mauriskha of Indonesia garnered the remaining two Wushu golds. In the judo competition, Japan claimed four out of five gold medals on offer, while South Korea bagged the fifth.

Japanese Taiki Nakamura defeated Tokyo Olympic silver medalist Yang Yung Wei from Chinese Taipei to win the men’s 60kg category. Manu Bhaker, a nine-time World Cup victor, staged a comeback victory in the women’s 10m air pistol and propelled India to win the team event.

Meanwhile, her compatriot and junior world champion Elavenil Valarivan captured the women’s 10m air rifle title as India bagged three gold. South Korea also bagged gold medals in the women’s 10m air rifle team, as well as the men’s and women’s individual poomsae of taekwondo. Hong Kong China and Indonesia were the other two countries to bag gold medals on Saturday, getting one each.

Japan tops the medal tally with four gold, three silver, and one bronze, while China and South Korea are tied for second place with 4-2-2. Apart from the medal events, rhythmic gymnastics, table tennis, tennis, and volleyball also started their competition on Saturday. On Sunday, the World University Games feature 27 medal events, including eight in Wushu and six in archery.