Tachimoto upsets Ortiz for 78-kg title

South Korea’s Kyu-won takes men’s 90kg title

TOKYO, Dec 2, (AFP): Japan’s Megumi Tachimoto defeated London Olympic gold medallist Idalys Ortiz of Cuba to cap a final day full of upsets at the Grand Slam international judo tournament on Sunday.

The 23-year-old Tachimoto, the world bronze medallist in the 2010 open class, pulled off an ippon two minutes 45 seconds into the final to win the women’s over 78-kilogramme title.

After the three-day competition, hosts Japan ended with 10 titles to South Korea’s two wins while the Netherlands earned a solitary victory. Japan won three gold medals on Sunday and South Korea two.

Earlier, South Korea’s Lee Kyu-Won shocked Olympic bronze medallist Masashi Nishiyama of Japan by an ippon to wrest the men’s 90kg title.

Then, Japan’s Daisuke Kobayashi defeated two-time world 90kg champion Ilias Iliadis of Greece, also the winner in the Athens Olympic 81kg class and the 90kg bronze medallist in London, by an ippon to win the men’s 100kg title.

World bronze medallist Kim Sung-Min needed only one minute and 37 seconds for an ippon to beat Olympic bronze medallist Rafael Silva of Brazil in the Greece’s Ilias Iliadis (top), falls down Brazil’s Luciano Correa (bottom), during their men’s 100-kg class secondround match at the Grand Slam judo tournament at Yoyogi National Gymnasium in Tokyo on Dec 2, Iliadis

won the match. (AFP) men’s over 100kg final.

The remaining title went to Ruika Sato, 20, who scored a yuko point and went on to beat world silver medallist and defending champion Akari Ogata in the women’s all-Japanese 78kg final.

90 kg final

Results

Lee Kyu-Won (KOR) Nishiyama (JPN) ippon Semi-finals Masashi Nishiyama (JPN) bt Shohei Shimowada (JPN) waza ari

Lee Kyu-Won (KOR) Bozbayev (KAZ) ippon Quarter-finals Masashi Nishiyama (JPN) bt Romain Buffet (FRA) waza ari

Shohei Shimowada (JPN) bt Joakim Dvarby (SWE) yuko

Islam Bozbayev (KAZ) Yoshida (JPN) waza ari

Lee Kyu-Won (KOR) bt Hirotaka Kato (JPN) yuko 100 kg final Daisuke Kobayashi Iliadis (GRE) ippon Semi-finals Ilias Iliadis (GRE) bt Maxim Rakov (KAZ) decision

Daisuke Kobayashi (JPN) bt Temuulen Battulga (MGL) ippon Quarter-finals Maxim Rakov (KAZ) Kumashiro (JPN) ippon

Ilias Iliadis (GRE) bt Thierry Fabre (FRA) ippon

Temuulen Battulga (MGL) bt Dino Pfeiffer (GER) yuko

Daisuke Kobayashi Reyes (CAN) ippon Over 100kg Final Kim Sung-Min (KOR) bt Rafael Silva (BRA) ippon

bt Masashi

bt

Islam

(JPN)

bt Yuya

bt

Ilias

bt Yusuke

(JPN) bt Kyle ble toward the end, first pulling his tee shoot deep into the rough on the par-5 No. 14. He blasted out through the trees and into the middle of the fairway and eventually made a brilliant birdie.

He then bogeyed No. 15 to allow Schwartzel to get within one shot, but recovered his composure with pars on the last three to close out a first win since November 2011.

American Bill Haas was third on 3 under, a shot ahead of Kaymer’s final-round playing partner, South African Louis Oosthuizen, who was fourth on 2 under. Two-time defending champion Lee Westwood’s run at Sun City ended with a 73 for a 1-under 287 total and fifth place.

The rest of the 12-man field were all over par through four rounds at a tough Gary Player Country Club layout, where narrow fairways, stubborn rough, gusty winds and — on Sunday — steady rain made scoring consistently difficult. No one shot better than 69 all week.

Kaymer eagled the par-5 No. 2, double-bogeyed No. 3, then had three birdies before his crucial recovery on the An Asia-Pacific select side rallied from behind with a string of powerful singles performances Sunday to beat Team China 14 1/2 - 9 1/2 in the Ryder Cup-style Dongfeng Nissan Cup at the CTS Tycoon Club in Shenzhen.

Trailing 7-5 after the fourball and foursome rounds, Asia-Pacific won nine and halved one of the 12 singles matches to retain the trophy they claimed at the inaugural event last year.

China’s sole victories on the final day came from veteran Zhang Lianwei, considered the father of professional golf in the country, and Liang Wenchong, who succeeded him as the mainland’s most successful player.

But it was left to the next generation to lead the way on Sunday when China sent out 14-year-old amateur sensation Guan Tianlang in the first singles match against New Zealander Mark Brown.

“He certainly has a future,” Brown said 14th. Deep in trouble, he found his way out of the bushes and put his third to within 10 feet. He made the birdie putt to ensure he had enough of an advantage through the closing holes.

In Khon Kaen, Thailand, Arnond Vongvanij upstaged heavy favorites Thaworn Wiratchant and Mardan Mamat with a two-stroke victory in the King’s Cup on Sunday to claim his first after securing a 2 and 1 victory against Guan, who next year will be the youngest ever player to compete in the US Masters.

“He plays so well that it’s easy to forget just how young he is.”

Liang led by example and raced five-up against fellow OneAsia Order of Merit winner Andre Stolz before taking his foot off the gas and easing out a 3 and 1 winner.

Jin Daxing managed to squeeze a half for China against Choo Tze Huang in the fourth match, but from then it was a procession in blue — summed up by Jason Kang’s 6 and 5 victory against Yuan Hao.

The biggest win of the day, however, belonged to the veteran Zhang, who was shaking hands on the 12th against Soushi Tajima after winning 7 and 5.

Asia-Pacific playing vice-captain Scott Laycock wrapped up the proceedings against Zhang Xinjun with a birdie putt on the 18th for a one-up victory. Asian Tour title.

The 23-year-old Thai, who qualified for the Asian Tour in January, shot a final round 64 including birdies on the 16th and 17th. Arnond finished with an overall 22-under 266 at the Singha Park Kohn Kaen Golf Club.

“I putted well and hit well and had some luck,” Arnond said. “The score just kept getting better and better.”

Singapore’s Mamat

(69) and Thailand’s Thaworn (68) shared second place, 1 shot behind Arnond.

Overnight leader Mamat, chasing his fourth Tour win, had a costly bogey on the 17th.

“I played really steady golf today except on the 17th where I had a bad swing,” the Singaporean said.

Thaworn overtook Australian Marcus Fraser as the Tour’s money leader.