The other surprise came from Aaron Wolf (JPN), Olympic champion a year and a half ago, who lost first round against Gennaro Pirelli (ITA). Another seeded athlete, Rafael Buzacarini (BRA), also lost first round, against Kaito Green (JPN).
In this top seeded athlete 'killing game,' one survived, Kentaro Iida, who reached the semi-final to face his teammate Kaito Green, who he defeated to reach the final. In the end, the only Japanese not qualified for the semi-finals was the current Olympic champion, a sign that the next generation and actually many generations are already knocking at the door.
Iida qualified for the final and we were expecting another Japanese competitor to face him but it was the Italian, Gennaro Pirelli, Wolf's executioner, who eventually qualified for the gold medal match. The same Pirelli, who was definitely an underdog since he was not seeded, completed the perfect competition day, defeating Iida in golden score. Maybe the latter was stronger, but the experience was on Pirelli's side, who with his own weapons, meaning a strong will and the capacity to be always first to attack, enjoyed his anthem at the end of a day that he will remember forever.
The two bronze medals could still go to Japan but Aurélien Diesse (FRA), who defeated the former world champion, Asley Gonzales (ROU) in the repechage, and Nurlykhan Sharkha (KAZ) had other plans. Nevertheless, winning here for non-Japanese is really difficult and both Kaito Green (JPN) et Kotaro Ueoka (JPN) added medals for the host country.
Final (-100 kg)
Bronze Medal Fights (-100 kg)
