Only South Korea's Kim Won Jin was able to blemish an otherwise total whitewash for the home team as he recorded a second successive victory on the IJF World Tour.

Coming up against Japanese outsider Shishime Toru in the men's under 60 kilogram final, Kim scored just two shido penalties to his opponents three to add a second gold medal to the one he took in Jeju City just last week.

Despite missing out on gold in this category, Oshima Yuma ensured there would be two Japanese athletes on the podium as he beat team mate and Asian Championships winner Yamamoto Hirofumi in the bronze medal match.

Kazakhstan snatched a slice of the medal success in the other final as Rustam Ibrayev defeated Israeli Artiom Arshanski.

This would prove the only stumble in Japan's journey to supremacy as they secured all other gold medals on offer for the day.

Kim Won Jin was the only non-Japanese victory on the opening day of the Tokyo Grand Slam ©IJF



World champion Kondo Ami got the ball rolling for the hosts as she got the better of team-mate and two-time world champion Asami Haruna in the women's under 48kg final.

A single yuko score in the opening 10 seconds was the only mark on the scoreboard come the final buzzer as the 19-year-old held on for the gold.

South Korea's Jeong Bo Kyeong upset Olympic champion Sarah Menezes of Brazil to secure the first bronze medal, while Argentine Paula Pareto won the second against Russia's Alesya Kuznetsova.

The women's under 52kg category was one that showed Japan's utter dominance of the lighter weight divisions.

An all-Japanese final saw Hashimoto Yuki defend her Tokyo title with an agonisingly close victory against Nishida Yuka.

This was followed by victory for local favourite Shishime Ai in the first bronze medal final, as he beat Olympic silver medallist Yanet Bermoy Acosta of Cuba, before two-time world champion Nakamura Misato completed the Japanese cleansweep in the second.

Matsumoto Kaori rounded off Japan's domination of the women's weight categories as she regained her position atop an IJF podium.

The reigning Olympic champion had a disappointing World Championships, falling at the first hurdle to the United States' Marti Malloy, but made up for it on home soil with a solid victory over Portugal's world silver medallist Telma Monteiro in the women's under 57kg.

The hosts secured yet another medal when Yoshida Tsukasa secured a career high result in beating team mate Yamamoto Anzu in the first bronze medal final.

Brazil's 2013 world champion Rafaela Silva turned defeat into victory in the second bronze medal match after pulling off  last gasp counter-attack to best Romanian London 2012 runner-up Corina Caprioriu.

Abe Hifumi secured his first senior judo title with victory at the Tokyo Grand Slam ©IJF



Abe Hifumi rounded off Japan's brilliant start to the Grand Slam with a final victory in the men's under 66kg.

The teenager, a silver medallist at the last Junior World Championships in Florida, was too good for Israel's Golan Pollack as he secured his first major senior title on the IJF World Tour.

Although a brilliant day for Japan, the same cannot be said for three-time world champion Ebinuma Masashi after he lost two matches on the bounce, both to his team mates, to walk away empty handed form this competition.

After his loss to Abe in the semi-finals, Ebinuma was again struck down by TakaichI Kengo as the underdog secured ippon from immobilisation for the bronze.

The final bronze medal of the day went to Russia's Mikhail Pulyaev as the World Championship silver medallist beat South Korea's An Baul.

Completion continue is due to continue in the Japanese capital tomorrow with action from the women's under 63 and 70kg divisions, as well as the men's under 73 and 81kg categories.

Watch the latest action on Judo TV here.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


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