Masashi Ebinuma (海老沼 匡, Ebinuma Masashi, born 15 February 1990) is a Japanese judoka. Ebinuma is a triple world champion, having won in 2011, 2013 and 2014. A dominant force in the half-lightweight division, he was ranked first in the world for three years. He is regarded as an ultimate stylist of seoi nage. He is also known for being a quadruple All-Japan national champion.[1][2]
Ebinuma won bronze medals at the 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympics. He married judoka Kana Abe in 2014. Both spouses are Asian and World champion judokas.[3]
Career
editAside from winning three World Championships gold medals (2011, 2013 and 2014), two Olympic bronze medals (London 2012 and Rio de Janeiro 2016) represent the pinnacle of Ebinuma’s career.
The path to the bronze in London included a refereeing controversy[4] as the reviewing jury overturned a decision made on the tatami by the referee and judges. This was the first such occurrence in Olympic judo, and the event triggered a loud negative reaction from some spectators at the ExCel Centre in London. The quarter-final match between Ebinuma and South Korea's Cho Jun-ho initially saw the referee and judges lift the flags and declare Cho the winner. This decision led to a strong negative reaction from some spectators and a visibly disturbed Japanese coach. In an extremely rare move, the reviewing commission decided to accept the complaint then ruled that Ebinuma should be declared the winner. The International Judo Federation emphasized the importance of ensuring the correct fighter wins, acknowledging the close nature of the fight.
In the bronze medal match in the London 2012 Olympics, an ippon was scored against him by Poland's Paweł Zagrodnik. It was downgraded to a waza-ari, saving him from defeat and earning him his first Olympic medal.[5]
At the 2016 Olympics, Ebinuma beat Charles Chibana, Ma Duanbin and Wander Mateo before losing to An Ba-ul.[6] Because An reached the final, Ebinuma was entered into the repechage, where he beat Antoine Bouchard to win his second bronze medal.[6]
Achievements
editThis section needs to be updated. (March 2019) |
- 2006
Asian U20 Championships -66 kg, Jeju
- 2008
Grand Slam -66 kg, Tokyo
- 2009
World Cup -66 kg, Budapest
- 2010
- 2011
- 2012
- 2013
- 2014
References
edit- ^ a b "Masashi Ebinuma". JudoInside.com. Retrieved 16 April 2010.
- ^ "Masashi Ebinuma". London2012.com. London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Archived from the original on 1 August 2012.
- ^ "Totally Wrapped Up". The Daily Yomiuri. 8 April 2015. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
- ^ "London 2012 Olympics: Japanese world judo champion Ebinuma Masashi saved by an overturned verdict". telegraph.co.uk. Archived from the original on 21 September 2016. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
- ^ "Ebinuma misses gold but salvages bronze". japantimes.co.jp. Archived from the original on 21 September 2013. Retrieved 28 August 2013.
- ^ a b Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Masashi Ebinuma". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 10 November 2018. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
External links
edit- Masashi Ebinuma at the International Judo Federation
- Masashi Ebinuma at JudoInside.com
- Masashi Ebinuma at AllJudo.net (in French)
- Masashi Ebinuma at Olympics.com
- Masashi Ebinuma at Olympedia
- Masashi Ebinuma at The-Sports.org
- Masashi Ebinuma on Instagram
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