Nagoya (Japan) (AFP) - Officials at the Japan Judo Federation said they had never witnessed a similar incident before, after Japanese player Rin Maeda, who later won gold, appeared as if she had been bitten by her Chinese competitor during the Asian Games.
Published on: 02/10/2026 - 07:40
Maeda got the ticket to the semi-finals of the under-70 kilogram competition in Nagoya, after Chinese Tang Jing was excluded from the match after about a minute and a half of its start.
Tang appeared to bite Maeda on the top of her wrist as the two players fought on the floor, before Maeda got up from the competition mat and showed the referee clear teeth marks on her arm.
After the judges reviewed the video footage, it was decided to disqualify Tang and award the victory to Maeda.
Japan's women's judo national team coach, Maki Tsukada, told The Digest Sports website that this incident was the first of its kind that she had witnessed during her long career in this sport.
She added after the incident that took place in the under-70 kg competition on Thursday: “In tournaments such as the Asian Games, there have previously been incidents in which a player was punched in the face or had swelling in the eye, but I have never seen anything like this before.”
She continued: "I feel remorse because we did not anticipate that something like this might happen."
Tsukada explained that the bite marks were clearly visible, even though Maeda had put protective tape on that part of her arm.
She said: "It got to the point where we thought she might start bleeding, but it did not develop to a point that required disinfecting the wound or taking measures of this kind."
“However, the teeth marks were clear and consistent on her arm,” she added.
Maeda continued her journey in the tournament until she won the gold medal, after defeating Kazakhstani Azhar Askhat in the final.
© 2026 AFP
The content you want to browse is no longer in service or is currently unavailable.
