By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
Filipino-Japanese Keisei Nakano overcame his Nigerian rival to secure the bronze medal in his weight class in the Abidjan African Judo Open held recently in Ivory Coast.
The 27-year-old Nakano outclassed Taiwo Aremu via ippon for the podium finish in the men’s -73kg.
He came close to booking a finals seat, but lost to Philippe Abel Matellus of Haiti via wazari, 2-0.
Matellus eventually bagged the silver medal after bowing to hometown bet Guillaume Dadie.
Prior to Nakano’s feat, he downed local bets Freddy Konan via ippon in the Round of 16 and Guy Alain Lago via wazari, 1-0.
His twin brother Shugen Nakano, however, missed out on a podium finish in the men’s -66kg after succumbing to Jason Patrick Zacko Ngawili of Central African Republic via wazari, 2-0, in the battle for the bronze medal.
Shugen lost to Senegal’s Mouhamedou Mbeop via wazari, 1-0, but recovered with a victory over Gabon’s Abdoul-Aziz Gotalowa Odipo via wazari, 2-0, in the repechage for a shot at the bronze medal.
The Nakano brothers have been competing in tournaments to regain ranking points essential in earning tickets to the 2024 Paris Olympics.
