Japanese Olympic champion Nao Kusaka made a dramatic comeback in front of his country's fans on Thursday, but he was unable to repeat it in the final, settling for the silver medal in the 77-kilogram Greco-Roman wrestling competition at the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya.
Two years after he defeated Kazakhstan's Demio Zadrayev in the final of the Paris Olympics, Kosaka met his old rival again in the round of 8 at the Inai gym in Nagoya.
Zadraev seemed on his way to revenge after leading 9-4, but Kosaka rose up amid loud encouragement from the Japanese fans, and overturned his deficit to an exciting victory with a score of 11-9 in one of the most exciting fights of the day.
The Japanese decided the confrontation in the last moments after grabbing decisive points that turned the tables, before his opponent failed in his arbitration objection, bringing the curtain down on a dramatic fight that lit up the stands.
But the final had a different ending; Kosaka found himself trailing early against Iranian Ali Reza Abdouli after losing two points in the first minutes. Despite his desperate attempts to come back, he was unable to turn the result around, losing 5-2 and settling for the silver medal.
The Japanese wrestler said: The 25-year-old: “I was completely in the atmosphere of the fight, but losing easy points at the beginning made me completely lose my rhythm.”
He added: “I entered the tournament believing that winning gold would confirm my true strength. “So I kept this goal in mind from the beginning.”
He continued: “I lacked the mental toughness needed to deal with such a difficult confrontation, and I did not succeed in maintaining my focus until the end. “Simply, I was not at the required level.”
Despite Kusaka's disappointment, Japan continued to win gold, after Yuri Nakazato won the 97-kilogram title in Greco-Roman wrestling. He defeated Indian Nitish Siwatch 4-0 in the final.
“It's an unbelievable feeling,” said Nakazato, who limped to the podium due to a leg injury. Honestly, I never imagined that I would win the gold medal.”
He added: “When I looked at the list of participants, I found high-caliber competitors from Kazakhstan and Iran, especially since I had lost in less than a minute in the (Asian Championship) this year.”
He continued: “All I wanted was to climb the podium and give my best to everyone who supported me, and thank God this was achieved in the best possible way.”
Nonoka Ozaki also gave the hosts another gold medal, after defeating North Korea's Kim Ok Joo, 3-0, in the women's 62-kilogram final in the freestyle wrestling competition.
Giovanni Malago, President of the Italian Football Federation, is facing difficult circumstances at the present time, as his crises are not limited to the decline in the results of the first team, but rather extend to other challenges that threaten his continuation in his position.
Malago is under investigation by the Italian Olympic Committee, which he previously headed, regarding an alleged violation in the process of electing him as president of the Italian Federation, which could lead to his dismissal and the appointment of an interim president to take over the duties.
In his current position, Malago is also responsible for Italy's preparations to host the 2032 European Nations Cup, amid tense preparations marred by several problems.
The Italian Football Federation submitted a file to the European Football Association (UEFA) that includes 13 cities and 14 stadiums nominated to host the Euro 2032 matches, which Italy organizes jointly with Türkiye.
The list of nominated cities includes Bari, Bologna, Cagliari, Florence, Genoa, Lecce, Milan, Naples, Palermo, Rome, Salerno, Turin and Verona.
Rome is the only city that submitted two stadiums, the Olympic Stadium and the new project of the Roma Club in the Petrillata area, after the two projects met the required standards.
Napoli was content with nominating the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium, without the new stadium project that club president Aurelio De Laurentiis seeks to build outside the city.
Also off the list is the Flamenho Stadium in Rome, which is the stadium that Lazio intends to redevelop.
Among the nominated stadiums are also new projects in Bologna and Verona, after the two cities presented their plans for the two new stadiums, hoping to complete them in time to host the continental championship matches.
UEFA will choose five stadiums from the Italian list to host the tournament matches in the summer of 2032, while Türkiye will provide five other stadiums for the version that the two countries will host jointly.
