Kazakh judoka Smetov pockets silver at Asian Games
Olympic champion and world champion Yeldos Smetov won a silver medal at the 20th Asian Games in Japan, losing to host nation representative Hayato Kondo in the men's under-60kg final, Qazinform News Agency learnt from the sports development directorate.
Smetov faced Kondo in a closely contested bout, with the Japanese judoka ultimately emerging victorious.
The silver medal marks Smetov's third Asian Games medal. At the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, he captured gold in the under-60kg category and also earned a silver medal in the men's team event, cementing his status as Kazakhstan's most successful judoka in Asian Games history.
Earlier in the day, Smetov claimed victory over South Korea's Lee Ha Rim, an Asian Games silver and bronze medalist. He then defeated Mongolian world championships silver medalist Ariunbold Enkhtaivan to advance to the semifinals.
In the last four, the Kazakh judoka overcame Yang Yung-Wei, the Tokyo Olympic silver medalist and Asian Games champion, to secure a place in the final.
Meanwhile, Kazakhstan's Abiba Abuzhakynova became a two-time Asian Games silver medalist.