Judo hero Yang Yongwei lost the bronze medal match at the Asian Games and missed the chance to stand on the podium for three consecutive years.

Yang Yongwei (in blue) lost and missed the medal. (Photo by special correspondent Chen Zhiqu)

[Special Correspondent Wu Mengru/Reporting from Nagoya] Yang Yongwei, the "judo god" who had hopes of winning a medal, lost to Chinese player Ma Yulin in the bronze medal match after a hard-fought battle of more than 12 minutes. He missed the chance to stand on the podium for the third consecutive time. After the game, he tried to hold back his disappointment and said with red eyes: "The result is not satisfactory, but I tried my best."

Yang Yongwei won bronze at the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games, silver at the Tokyo Olympics, and won the 100th gold medal in Taiwan's history at the Hangzhou Asian Games. This will be his third Asian Games, but unfortunately he lost to Kazakh star Simetov in the quarterfinals. After 4 minutes of regular play in the bronze medal match, the gold-scoring system also fought for more than 8 minutes. He actively attacked but was knocked back by Ma Yulin, missing the opportunity to stand on the podium.

Yang Yongwei, who had hopes of winning a medal, admitted that the pressure of the competition was actually very high and he had expectations for himself. Unfortunately, the result was not satisfactory. "But I think it is not a bad thing. I have tried my best and know what needs to be changed."

Yang Yongwei said frankly that he had never faced his Chinese opponent Ma Yulin in the past. "He fell well and couldn't find any flaws. When I attacked later, the opponent found an opportunity. That's how the game was." He believed that after the judo rules were reformed, it would be best to score as soon as possible in the regular season. This is what he will continue to improve in future competitions, and he also has to pick up his mood as soon as possible, because Azerbaijan will participate in the Judo World Championships tomorrow.