Japan wins three more gold medals on second day of Düsseldorf Grand Slam

DUSSELDORF, GERMANY – Olympic gold medalist Shohei Ono defeated countryman Masashi Ebinuma in the men's 73kg division final. Japan won three gold medals on Saturday on the second day of the Grand Slam Düsseldorf.

Ono won his fourth Grand Slam gold medal with a Yusei victory over Ebinuma, triple world champion and double Olympic bronze medalist in the 66 kg category.

"I think I did well if I only looked at the results, but I was not so good if you really watched my performance on the mat," said Ono. "It was difficult, it was a day that required perseverance."

Japan's Miku Tashiro and Sotaro Fujiwara defeated Russian athletes in the final of their respective weight clbades.

Tashiro won his second Grand Slam gold medal by beating Russian Daria Davydova in the women's 63kg with a ouchigari sweep of the inner leg for ippon. Masako Doi of Japan won the bronze medal after defeating Dutchman Sanne Vermeer after defeating Davydova in the semifinal.

Fujiwara won the men's 81kg competition after Russia's Aslan Lappinagov was disqualified for being penalized three times.

Japan won four of five gold medals to win on Friday. The three-day Grand Slam of Düsseldorf is also part of the qualifiers for this summer's world championships in Tokyo.