After winning two Olympic gold medals at the Tokyo Games in 2021 and having additional success in premier competitions since then, gymnast Daiki Hashimoto carried lofty expectations to Paris.
Hashimoto, however, had a disappointing miscue that ended his chances of repeating as gold medalist in the men's horizontal bar competition.
During qualifying on Saturday, July 27, at Bercy Arena in the French capital, Hashimoto botched his dismount, shutting the door on his qualifying hopes for the horizontal bar final on August 5.
Hashimoto did not finish in the top eight in qualifying, thus missing out on a berth in the final. He received 13.733 points, placing 17th among 48 participants.
Compatriot Takaaki Sugino had Japan's best score on the horizontal bar (14.733).
Hashimoto entered the Paris Games as the favorite to repeat as men's all-around Olympic champion. He qualified with a total score of 85.064 points on a busy day at the arena.
Will his forward fall on the dismount be a mental roadblock to keeping his focus on upcoming objectives?
The men's team final is on Monday, July 29, followed by the men's all-around final two days later.
On August 7, Hashimoto will turn 23.
Although he is now out of the running for the gold medal in the horizontal bar competition, an event he's the reigning world champion in, two huge events remain on his schedule in Paris before his birthday celebrations.
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Judo
Tsunoda Captures Gold, Japan's 1st Medal of Paris Games, in Women's 48-Kilogram Division
Veteran judoka Natsumi Tsunoda won five consecutive matches in the women's 48-kilogram division on Saturday evening. This gave her Japan's first medal of the Paris Games and the nation's 500th overall medal in the Summer Olympics, dating back to 1920.
In the gold-medal match, Tsunoda defeated Mongolia's Baasankhuu Bavuudorj 1-0 via a waza-ari.
Tsunoda, 31, is the three-time defending world champion in this weight class. She made her Olympic debut on Saturday.
After Tsunoda claimed the gold, Ryuju Nagayama collected Japan's second judo medal in Paris. Nagayama earned a 10-0 triumph by ippon over Turkey's Salih Yildiz in the first of two bronze-medal matches in the men's 60-kg division.
Handball
Croatia Tops Japan in Thriller
In a men's preliminary round Group A match on Saturday afternoon, Croatia edged Japan 30-29 at South Paris Arena 6.
Japan held an 18-13 lead at halftime.
Croatia's Ivan Martinovic had the final goal in the 60th minute to break a 29-all tie.
Both teams kept the scorekeepers busy in the second half in the French capital.
Mario Sostaric paced Croatia with six goals on eight shot attempts. Teammate Lovro Mihic finished with four goals.
For Japan, Kosuke Yasuhira, a center back, had match-high totals in goals (10) and attempts (15). Naoki Fujisaka scored on all five of his shots.
Yasuhira's final goal on a penalty shot made it 29-29 at the 58:20 mark.
Japan is back in action against Germany on Monday, July 29. On the same day, Croatia plays Slovenia.
Icelandic mentor Dagur Sigurdsson served as Japan coach from 2017 until early 2024. He became the Croatia national team coach in February.
Swimming
Teenager Hirai Advances to Women's 100-Meter Butterfly Semifinals
Olympic debutante Mizuki Hirai, 17, had the second-fastest time in the women's 100-meter butterfly qualifying heats on Saturday at the Paris La Defense Arena.
Competing in the fourth of six heats, Hirai was clocked in 56.71 seconds.
As a result, she earned a spot in the semifinals.
Compatriot and leukemia survivor Rikako Ikee, also swimming in the same heat, placed seventh in the eight-woman race. Ikee had the 14th-fastest time (57.82) among the 16 swimmers to secure a spot in the semis.
China's Yufei Zhang had the fastest time (56.50).
The semifinal heats were set to begin at 8:30 PM Paris time on Saturday (3:30 AM JST on Sunday).
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Badminton
Matsumoto, Nagahara Triumph Over Indonesian Pair
Japanese duo Mayu Matsumoto and Wakana Nagahara teamed up for a 24-21, 22-15 victory over Indonesia's Apriyani Rahayu and Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti on Saturday in the women's doubles Group A group play stage at Porte de La Chapelle Arena.
Matsumoto and Nagahara are both appearing in their second consecutive Olympic Games. They were doubles partners at Tokyo 2020, finishing fifth overall.
Nagahara was fired up by the vocal support of family members who traveled to France to root for her and Matsumoto. She noted that while they sat close to the action, it gave the venue a comfortable atmosphere.
"The cheering was so close that I felt like they were fighting with me," Nagahara said, according to The Yomiuri Shimbun.
On Sunday the group play stage continues, and Matsumoto and Nagahara face Malaysia's Pearly Tan and Muralitharan Thinaah.
Fencing
Yoshimura Wins Twice in Women's Epee
Kyoto Prefecture native Miho Yoshimura won consecutive women's epee individual matches against Rwanda's Tufaha Uwihoreye and China's Yiwen Sun, outpointing her opponents 15-7 and 14-13 in overtime, respectively on Saturday morning.
Yoshimura reached the round of 16 at the Grand Palais later in the day to meet Ukraine's Vlada Kharkova.
This is the 26-year Japanese fencer's first appearance in the Olympics. She did, however, compete in the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics.
As it turned out, Kharkova remained in contention for a medal by defeating Yoshimura 15-10 in a match that lasted 16 minutes, 42 seconds.
Rowing
Arakawa Advances to Men's Single Sculls Quarterfinals
Ryuta Arakawa finished second in his qualifying heat on Saturday and advanced to the quarterfinals in the men's single sculls in Vaires-sur-Marne, France.
Yokohama native Arakawa, who placed 11th at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, completed his 2,000-meter qualifying heat in 6 minutes, 51.59 seconds. Simon van Dorp of the Netherlands had the fastest time (6:49.93) among the six participants in the third heat at Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium. Van Dorp also had the quickest time among the 33 entrants in the heats.
"My physical condition itself is feeling good," Arakawa was quoted as saying by The Yomiuri Shimbun. "I lost to the Dutch contender for the [race victory], but I am relieved that I was able to come up safely in second place."
To book a spot in the quarterfinals, Arakawa, 29, had a solid effort from start to finish. Comparing the times of the six rowers in the third heat, he was third after 500 meters and third (3:25.97) at the midway point of the race. After 1,500 meters, he was in second place.
Arakawa placed eighth at the 2023 world championships in Belgrade. A year earlier, he was seventh at the world championships in Racice, Czech Republic.
The quarterfinals are scheduled for Monday, July 29.
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Author: Ed Odeven
Find Ed on JAPAN Forward's dedicated website, SportsLook. Follow his [Japan Sports Notebook] on Sundays, [Odds and Evens] during the week, and X (formerly Twitter) ＠ed_odeven.
Figure Skating
Yuma Kagiyama Captures 1st Title at the Japan Championships
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