TOKYO — Distria Krasniqi beat Funa Tonaki in the women’s 48-kilogram judo final on Saturday night, depriving Japan of its first gold medal in its home Olympics and winning Kosovo’s second-ever medal.
Krasniqi won on a throw with 20 seconds left, scoring a waza-ari and claiming a title that moved her to tears moments later.
Although Krasniqi was the top seed, she was severely challenged by the 4-foot-10 Tonaki, who beat a series of difficult opponents to reach the final.
Tonaki fell agonizingly short of claiming a gold medal in Japan’s beloved, homegrown martial art. Her success would have provided a much-needed jolt of positivity for a nation still feeling profoundly ambivalent about these Olympics and discouraged by the scandals and coronavirus setbacks surrounding them.
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