Sports

SAITAMA, Japan — One of the world’s top two teams will be heading home from the Olympics on Tuesday after the US and Spain were thrust together in the men’s basketball quarter-finals, a re-match of their 2008 and 2012 gold medal showdowns.

The pair will clash unusually early after Spain lost 95-87 to Slovenia to finish second in their group and fall out of the top-seeded bracket.

The US, led by Kevin Durant crashed in its opener against eventual Group A winner France — the Americans’ first defeat at an Olympics since 2004 — to also finish second. 

Despite their poor start, which followed two defeats in exhibition games ahead of the Olympics, US coach Gregg Popovich said his team was finding its feet and was up for the do-or-die battle with the Spanish.

“We were behind the eight ball in the beginning, and we’re making some fast progress,” he said after they crushed the Czech Republic 119-84 in their final group game.

“We still have a lot of improvement that we must and can make. 

“But I think the losses in the beginning put a laser focus on how you have to play with these rules, in this environment against these talented teams, who execute wonderfully.

“And if you do not have respect for your opponent, you’re going to be in big trouble. So, we learned that the hard way.”

But the Americans have their work cut out against a Spanish team boasting plenty of NBA-calibre talent, including Ricky Rubio, Marc Gasol, Willy Hernangomez and 2021 first-round draft pick Usman Garuba, who is heading to the Houston Rockets after the Games.

The  US are three-time defending champions who have medalled in all 18 Olympics they have competed at, winning 15 gold, a silver and two bronze.

And they currently own an impressive 140-6 all-time record in Olympic action.

Spain coach Sergio Scariolo has crafted one of the best defending teams in the world, and he is confident heading into the game at Saitama Super Arena.

“Spain is a team that’s been legendary in the world of basketball for being able to compete throughout the years, regardless or players who were in, regardless the generations which were involved,” he said. 

“We just have to keep being ourselves, keep our identity, that’s it.”

The US beat Spain 107-100 in the 2012 London Olympics decider, having buried them 118-107 in the gold medal clash at Beijing four years earlier.

The two teams also met in Rio five years ago, but at the semi-final stage where the US was again too good, clinching a low-scoring game 82-76.

In the other-quarter-finals on Tuesday, Luka Doncic’s Slovenia plays Germany, France and Rudy Gobert face Italy and Patty Mills’ Australia take on Argentina.

TOKYO — Lamont Marcell Jacobs stormed to a shock victory in the Olympics 100m final on Sunday to cap a golden double for Italy on a dramatic day of athletics action at the Tokyo Games.

Jacobs became the first Italian in history to be crowned champion in the blue riband event of the Olympic track and field programme after powering home in a blistering 9.80sec.

Fred Kerley of the United States took silver in 9.84sec and Canada’s Andre de Grasse bronze in 9.89sec.

The 26-year-old Jacobs erupted as he crossed the finish line and leapt into the arms of compatriot Gianmarco Tamberi, who only moments earlier had clinched a rare shared gold medal for Italy in the high jump after a duel with Qatari world champion Mutaz Essa Barshim.

It was the final act of a pulsating day three of track and field at the Olympic Stadium which also saw a brilliant world record-breaking gold medal victory in the triple jump for Venezuela’s two-time world champion Yulimar Rojas.

But the undisputed headline-grabbing performance of the night belonged to Italy’s Jacobs, who had never previously gone under 10 seconds before the 2021 season.

The muscular El Paso, Texas-born sprinter had only finished third in his semi-final earlier on Sunday, clocking 9.84sec behind China’s Su Bingtian and Ronnie Baker of the US to qualify for the final as one of the two fastest losers.

But in the final he roared from the blocks, hit the front at around the 50-metre mark and then held on to become the first Olympic 100m gold medallist of the post-Usain Bolt era.

“It’s incredible,” Jacobs said afterwards. “My dream was to arrive here and run a final. We run a final and we win a final.”

Jacobs said his dramatic improvement in times this season had been down to improvements in training, diet and mentality.

“I really work hard with my mind,” Jacobs told AFP. “Because when I was arriving at the big moment my legs don’t work too good. Now my legs go really good when it’s a big moment.

“We changed the starts. And we work mentality. Mentality, good food, good physiotherapy.”

After crossing the line Jacobs was greeted by high jumper Tamberi, who had clinched a share of the gold medal with Barshim minutes earlier.

Both men hugged after settling for gold having both recorded a best clearance of 2.37 metres.

“This is a dream I don’t want to wake up from,” said Barshim. “But we are here today sharing this moment and all the sacrifices. It’s really worth it now in this moment.”

In the triple jump meanwhile, Rojas did her best to electrify a largely empty stadium with a scintillating world record with her last leap of 15.67m, smashing the previous best of 15.50m set by Ukraine’s Inessa Kravets 26 years ago.

“I am lost for words, I can’t describe this feeling and this moment,” Rojas said. 

“Gold medal winner, with an Olympic record, and a world record... Wow. It is a fantastic night.”

It was the first world record of the Tokyo athletics programme.

Portugal’s Patricia Mamona won silver with a national best of 15.01m, while Spain’s Ana Peleteiro jumped 14.87m.

Earlier Sunday, China’s Gong Lijao claimed gold in the women’s shot put after leading the competition from start to finish.

American Raven Saunders took silver with 19.79m, while New Zealand veteran Valerie Adams, in her fifth Olympics, was delighted as she claimed bronze with 19.62 to go with golds in 2008 and 2012, and silver in 2016.

It marked the end of a long journey to gold for the 32-year-old Gong, a bronze medallist at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing and a silver medallist four years later in London.

In the women’s 100m hurdles semifinals, Puerto Rico’s Jasmine Camacho-Quinn set an Olympic record to qualify for Monday’s final with a superb display of technique and power.

Camacho-Quinn surged home in 12.26sec, smashing Sally Pearson’s previous Olympic record set in 2012 of 12.35sec.

The 24-year-old’s performance suggested that world record holder Keni Harrison may once again be kept waiting for her first major outdoor title.

The American favourite finished second in her heat in 12.51sec, trailing Jamaica’s Britany Anderson (12.40sec).

In the opening rounds of the men’s 400m, world champion Stephen Gardiner of the Bahamas and American Michael Cherry led a host of contenders into Monday’s semifinals of what promises to be an ultra-competitive race.

In the 400m hurdles semifinal, world champion Karsten Warholm qualified safely for the final along with US rival Rai Benjamin.

TOKYO — Jamaica’s Elaine Thompson-Herah equalled the second-fastest time in history to retain her women’s Olympic 100m title on Saturday as on going mental health problems left gymnastics superstar Simone Biles’s Tokyo campaign teetering on the brink.

Thompson-Herah blazed to an Olympic-record 10.61sec, well ahead of crestfallen two-time winner Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, with Shericka Jackson completing an all-Jamaican podium.

“I am really excited to come back and retain my title. My chest hurts, I am so happy,” said Thompson-Herah, whose time has only been bettered by world record holder Florence Griffith-Joyner.

And in the pool, US stars Caeleb Dressel and Katie Ledecky added to their gold medal collections, while Great Britain won the Olympics’ first mixed 4x100m medley relay.

Fraser-Pryce, the 2008 and 2012 champion, was attempting to become the first woman to win an individual athletics event three times but she floundered in Thompson-Herah’s wake.

A spectacular light show lit up the track in the Olympic Stadium, devoid of fans because of coronavirus risks, and Thompson-Herah then provided the fireworks, pulling away in the later stages.

Nigeria’s Blessing Okagbare, who had won her 100m heat, was thrown out of the event for failing a drugs test — the first doping incident of the Games. Kenyan men’s 100m runner Mark Odhiambo was also suspended for testing positive for steroids.

There was heartbreak for Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith, who missed out on the 100m final and then pulled out of the 200m competition because of a hamstring injury.

American Trayvon Bromell, who owns the fastest time this year of 9.77sec, scraped into the men’s 100m semis after timing 10.05 to finish fourth in his heat.

Sweden’s Danel Stahl hurled 68.90m to win the men’s discus finish ahead of teammate Simon Pettersson, sparking uproarious celebrations by the pair in the largely empty stadium.

And Poland were the surprise winners of the inaugural mixed 4x400m relay where the Jamaican team were involved in a tumble mid-race.

Meanwhile Biles’s problems with the “twisties”, a mental block where gymnasts struggle to orientate themselves in mid-air, continued as she pulled out of the vault and uneven bars.

The four-time Olympic champion had already withdrawn from the team and all-around competition, and now has just two more chances — the floor competition on Monday and the beam on Tuesday.

Other US stars powered on, with swimmer Dressel winning the 100m butterfly in a world-record 49.45sec and distance specialist Ledecky bagging her third straight 800m title.

But Dressel lost his chance of a Michael Phelps-style six golds when USA finished fifth in the mixed 4x100m medley relay behind Britain’s world record 3:37.58.

Belinda Bencic beat Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic to become the first Swiss to win the women’s singles final.

Earlier, two-time individual triathlon medallist Jonny Brownlee finally won gold when he led Britain to victory in the inaugural mixed relay.

In other action, New Zealand beat France 26-12 to win the women’s rugby sevens, and China’s Ma Long became the first man to win two Olympic table tennis singles titles.

Weightlifter Fares El Bakh became Qatar’s first Olympic champion in history as he dominated the men’s 96kg, setting new Games records in the process.

Kevin Durant and Jayson Tatum turned on the style as the US men’s basketball team eventually shook off the Czech Republic to win 119-84 to reach the Olympic knockout phase Saturday.

Boston Celtics star Tatum scored 27 points and Brooklyn Nets forward Durant hit 23 points in a win that sent Gregg Popovich’s team into the quarter-finals.

The combative Czechs were just four points behind at half-time in Saitama, but Durant upped the tempo in the second half.

BUDAPEST — Lewis Hamilton arrives in Budapest this weekend facing another high-pressure challenge on and off the track at the Hungarian Grand Prix where he hopes to clinch a 100th career victory.

After reducing Max Verstappen's lead in the world championship to eight points at Silverstone, where he won for Mercedes after a controversial opening lap collision with the Dutchman for which he was given a 10-second penalty, the defending seven-time champion has an opportunity to regain the initiative in the title race.

The 36-year-old Briton has won a record eight times at the dusty, tight and twisty high down-force Hungaroring circuit where he completed a hat-trick last year and expects another close scrap on Sunday.

By then, however, he may have had his British win overturned, or put in jeopardy, if Red Bull have their way at a stewards' hearing on Thursday and succeed in gaining a review of Hamilton's penalty.

They say it was too lenient. Mercedes disagree.

The British Grand Prix collision prompted a war of words led by Red Bull, but neither driver has become involved since the dust settled.

Verstappen, who escaped without serious injury, distanced himself from the argument after saying that he felt Hamilton had been disrespectful to celebrate his victory while he lay in a nearby hospital.

"I don't have much to say on all the media hype and, to be honest, I'm not interested in getting involved in any of that," he said.

"I know what happened at Silverstone as I was in the car and obviously I feel a certain way about how my race ended.

"But now I'm just focusing on making sure we are the best we can be on track so we can stay ahead in the championship.

"The team can take care of the official side of things and anything that needs looking into after the crash, but my job is the same as always — to be the best I can and try to win on Sunday."

'I'm a little bruised'

He added: "I'm a little bruised, of course, but that's normal after such a big impact, but I'm training and feeling good."

Verstappen added that he had completed a race distance test in the team's simulator without any adverse reaction ahead of the final round in his "battle of the generations" with Hamilton ahead of the sport's European summer break.

In the aftermath of his 51-G crash, it is likely that Verstappen will be bruised psychologically as much as physically and he knows now that Hamilton will not always back off when they are racing wheel to wheel.

German Nico Rosberg, who beat Hamilton to win the 2016 title after a fierce season of intra-team rivalry at Mercedes including a collision in Spain that gifted Verstappen his maiden win for Red Bull, believes the title fight this year has become compelling viewing.

"It was an amazing battle and now as a pundit and as a fan it's so awesome. I'm personally excited now for the next race. How is the dynamic going to play out? Even just the next press conference on Thursday — I hope F1 put them in next to each other."

Rosberg said the crash was a racing incident and, to him, no surprise and said the title race reminded him of previous battles between the generations.

"It reminds me of Senna-Schumacher, Schumacher-Alonso and maybe Alonso-Vettel," he said.

Both Mercedes and Red Bull will on Thursday attend a virtual hearing to decide if there should be a review.

Red Bull will need to present significant new evidence.

While the title contenders will arrive in Budapest on tenterhooks, Alpine's Fernando Alonso will relish the weekend for different reasons as he celebrates his 40th birthday back at the circuit where he gained his maiden F1 victory in 2003.

TOKYO — Two pole vaulters were ruled out of the Tokyo Olympics and Australia's track and field team were briefly forced into isolation on Thursday in a jolting reminder of the risks facing athletes at the coronavirus-hit Games.

On the eve of the athletics competition, 2016 bronze medallist Sam Kendricks and Argentina's German Chiaraviglio suffered heartbreaking disappointment when they both tested positive.

Kendricks' case triggered a panic in the Australian team, which went into precautionary isolation for more than two hours before all but three close contacts were released.

America's Kendricks, a two-time world champion, and Chiaraviglio are both in isolation and will miss the pole vault competition when it starts on Saturday.

"We knew this Olympic Games was different and with different rules, and here I am, it's my turn," Chiaraviglio wrote on Instagram.

"Living through this is very difficult, but it will also pass," he added.

Preparing for the Olympics has been tough in the pandemic and athletes are under extra pressure at the pandemic-delayed Games with strict biosecure measures and the constant threat of Covid.

Athletes' wellbeing has been a running concern and the women's all-around gymnastics went ahead without superstar Simone Biles, who had withdrawn because of fears over her mental health.

Eighteen-year-old American Sunisa Lee took gold, succeeding Biles as champion, with Brazil's Rebeca Andrade taking silver and Russian Angelina Melnikova bronze.

Earlier, US swim star Caeleb Dressel grabbed his second gold of the Games in the showpiece men's 100m freestyle to stay on track for a potential haul of six.

The 24-year-old, heir apparent to the great Michael Phelps, powered to the wall an Olympic-record 47.02sec to dethrone Australia's Kyle Chalmers.

Medal joy

Dressel said he was proud to claim his first individual title after two relay golds in Rio and another this week in Tokyo.

"I didn't want to admit it but now I did it I can admit it, it's a lot different," he said.

Robert Finke won another gold for the United States in the men's 800m freestyle, while Australia's Zac Stubblety-Cook claimed the men's 200m breaststroke gold in an Olympic record 2:06.38.

China's Zhang Yufei won the women's 200m butterfly and China turned heads when they smashed the world record to win the 4x200m women's freestyle relay ahead of USA and Australia.

At a sweltering Ariake Tennis Park, world number one Novak Djokovic swept aside home hope Kei Nishikori 6-2, 6-0 to reach the semi-finals as he targets his first Olympic title.

The Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon champion, on course for the first men's Golden Slam of winning all four majors and the Olympics, will face Germany's Alexander Zverev in the last four.

Switzerland's Belinda Bencic beat Elena Rybakina 7-6 (7/2), 4-6, 6-3 to reach the final, and was overcome with emotion to secure a medal.

"I don't feel pressure right now. I just feel joy to have a medal," Bencic said.

Unheralded Austrian Sepp Straka was the surprise leader after a storm-interrupted first day of the men's golf, while Denmark's Viktor Axelsen and Taiwan's Chou Tien-chen were among the men's badminton contenders to safely reach the quarter-finals.

After Japan denied China a fourth straight table tennis team sweep by winning the mixed doubles, they reasserted their dominance when Chen Meng beat Sun Yingsha in an all-Chinese women's singles title.

Aaron Wolf won the -100kg judo for Japan as the hosts finished the day on 15 golds, the same number as China, with USA just behind on 14.

Meanwhile organisers announced a daily record of 24 new Games-related infects, three of whom are athletes, taking the overall number of positive cases to 193.

The rising figure coincides with record numbers of new cases in Tokyo and nationwide. But the International Olympic Committee said there was no link with the Games.

"As far as I'm aware there's not a single case of an infection spreading to the Tokyo population from the athletes or Olympic movement," spokesman Mark Adams told reporters.

TOKYO — Japanese teenager Daiki Hashimoto had no time for tears as he became the youngest ever men’s all-around Olympic gymnastics champion with a superb final horizontal bars routine at the Tokyo Games on Wednesday.

The nerveless 19-year-old edged out China’s Xiao Ruoteng with Russian world champion Nikita Nagornyy taking bronze, and kept dry-eyed on the podium despite the enormity of his accomplishment.

“Had I cried, I thought it would have been as if I were feeling satisfied with where I am now. I thought the champion must not cry but only look forward,” he explained.

The boy from the Tokyo suburbs succeeds his illustrious compatriot Kohei Uchimura, the 2012 and 2016 all-around champion who chose not to go for a hat-trick after persistent shoulder injuries.

Placed third going into the final rotation, the horizontal bar, Hashimoto seized his moment, putting in a near-flawless routine, dismounting with a clap of his hands that sent a cloud of white chalk into the air.

Waiting for his score wearing a broad smile and the Japanese flag over his shoulders, Hashimoto rightly sensed he had done enough.

His 14.933 points lifted him to a total of 88.465, just 0.4 clear of Xiao on 88.065.

“If I performed without making mistakes, I thought I would surely win the gold medal. 

“I wanted to show a performance that leaves an impression in people’s mind without thinking about the colour of the medal.

“I wobbled at the landing. So I am not satisfied. But in that big moment, I was able to finish. So that was big.”

He said with gold secured — the host nation’s 13th of the Games — he had one important task to perform.

“First and foremost, I want to give it to my parents. I want to get it around their necks and thank them for supporting me.”

After Japan took silver behind Nagornyy’s Russians in the team event on Monday, Hashimoto was determined to go one better at the Ariake Gymnastics Centre which 24 hours earlier had been the scene of Simone Biles’ dramatic withdrawal from the women’s team final.

Biles, who earlier also withdrew from Thursday’s all-around final, citing mental struggles, turned up with the silver-medal winning US women’s team to support their compatriots Sam Mikulak and Brody Malone.

While that duo finished out of the top 10 Biles was treated to a tense battle that went all the way to the wire.

Kohei’s Olympic reign is over but in Hashimoto he looks to have a worthy successor — a case of the king is dead, long live the king.

Hashimoto had defined his career objectives before the postponed Games begun as capturing all-around gold at the 2020, 2024 and 2028 Olympics.

He achieved the first of those three in some style, having led the list of 24 qualifiers into the final.

With the first six from qualifying drawn in one group all eyes were on Nagornyy in the opening floor exercise to see whether he would perform his eponymous element, a triple pike he debuted at the European Championships.

The answer was no, the Russian world champion perhaps saving it for the apparatus final.

Hashimoto led, and after the pommel horse pulled over half a point clear.

But the next routine, the rings, shook up the top order, with Xiao edging compatriot Sun Wei and Nagornyy nipping ahead of Hashimoto.

“For the rings, there was an element that missed points. I became a but flustered, but you never know what will happen in a competition. So I just put it behind me and focused on what’s next,” the Russian said.

The parallel bars were the competitors’ penultimate port of call, with Nagornyy posting the top score to go second from Hashimoto ahead of the concluding horizontal bar as less than half a point split the front three.

After Xiao and Nagornyy had done their stuff the spotlight turned to Hashimoto, who ended with a double-double layout dismount which drew appreciation from the sprinkling of supporters, and more importantly, the judges.

TOKYO — A tearful Simone Biles said “mental health concerns” were behind her shock withdrawal from the team final on Tuesday with the superstar gymnast’s participation in the rest of the Tokyo Olympics now uncertain.

The 24-year-old American arrived in Japan as one of the headline acts of the pandemic-postponed 2020 Games, her diminutive frame shouldering an immense weight of expectation as she pursued a record-equalling nine Olympic titles.

Biles came into the team finals after uncharacteristic stumbles in qualifying that left the US women behind their Russian opponents.

The slate was clean however for Tuesday, but after failing to nail her opening vault Biles’ night took a dramatic turn as she walked off the competition floor, causing consternation at the Ariake Gymnastics Centre.

As her team warmed up for the uneven bars, Biles re-emerged, but the US team withdrew her from the rest of the final.

She watched the action unfold alongside her teammates, clapping and even dancing, undercutting any suggestion of an injury. 

The US quartet were pipped to gold by the Russians who claimed the Olympic women’s team title for the first time since the 1992 Barcelona Games. Britain took a surprise bronze medal.

After she collected her silver medal — Biles was eligible having at least started the final — the four-time Olympic champion confirmed her shock exit was due to her psychological state.

“I have to do what’s right for me and focus on my mental health and not jeopardise my health and my well-being,” Biles said, with her teammates gathered beside her.

“I just don’t trust myself as much as I used to, and I don’t know if it’s age. I’m a little bit more nervous when I do gymnastics,” she admitted.

“I feel like I’m also not having as much fun, and I know that this Olympic Games, I wanted it to be for myself,” she said, as she began to cry, and she was comforted by her teammates.

“It just sucks that it happens here at the Olympics Games. With the year that it’s been, I’m really not surprised the way it played out.”

‘Dealing with 

the demons’

Biles has spoken openly about her battle with depression after revealing she was among the hundreds of gymnasts sexually abused by former US team doctor Larry Nassar, who is now serving a life prison sentence.

She said Tuesday that therapy and medicine had helped her, but had not been enough.

“I feel like that’s all been going really well but then whenever you get in a high stress situation you kind of freak out. You don’t really know how to handle all of those emotions, especially being at the Olympic Games.”

“Once I step up onto the mat it’s just me and my head, dealing with the demons in my head.”

A statement from USA Gymnastics said Biles was suffering from an unspecified “medical issue” and would now face daily assessment to determine whether she will continue her Olympic campaign.

Biles has qualified for all finals available to her in Tokyo. The next is the all-around event on Thursday.

“We are going to take it a day at a time and we’ll see what happens,” she said..

In a candid Instagram post on Monday the 24-year-old said she was feeling the pressure during qualifying, admitting: “I truly do feel like I have the weight of the world on my shoulders at times.”

If Biles is unable to continue in Tokyo, it would mark a stunning turn of events at a Games she had been expected to dominate.

She is bidding to become the first woman in more than half a century to retain the all-around title, with Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina’s record of nine Olympic gold medals in her sights.

The US team, clearly unbalanced by the drama surrounding their talismanic leader, were foiled in their bid for a third straight Olympic title after wins in London and Rio.

Led by Angelina Melnikova, Russia prevailed with a total of 169.528. The US scored 166.096 and Britain had 164.096.

Competing as the Russian Olympic Committee because they are banned from using the Russian flag and anthem due to doping sanctions, the team emulated the Russian men who won gold 24 hours earlier — the first time in Olympic history one country has won both titles.

While the Russians celebrated, the US team put their arms around Biles.

“She’s my idol, she’s my inspiration,” said teammate Sunisa Lee.

AMMAN — Boxer Hussein Ishaish is into the quarter-finals of the -91kg division at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, according to the Jordan Olympic Committee News Service. 

The 25-year-old was in stunning form beating Julio Cesar Castillo, 33, of Ecuador, and can look forward to a last eight bout on Friday against Abna Teixeira of Brazil. After losing the first round, Ishaish dominated the last two rounds against the world silver medallist to win 4-0 on the judges’ scorecards, with a fifth judge marking it down as a draw. 

It was a mixed day though for the Ishaish brothers with Ziad, 22, who was considered as one of the favourites for the -69kg title, suffering a surprise defeat to Merven Clair, 28, of Mauritius.

Ishaish appeared to be in control of his bout, and was looking on track for victory after dominating the second round, but the Jordanian delegation was stunned to see the final split going 3-2 in the African’s favour despite two of the five judges showing that Ishaish had won all three rounds.

In the pool, Amro Al Wir narrowly missed out on breaking his 200m breaststroke Jordan record in his heat. Al Wir, who set a new Jordan mark for the 100m on Saturday, finished fourth in his heat in a time of 2:12.61, just short of his best time of 2:12.40.

AMMAN — Jordan’s taekwondo star, Saleh Al Sharabaty, has won a tremendous silver medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, according to the Jordan Olympic Committee News Service.

The 22-year-old showed stunning form to reach the final where he lost to reigning European and 2017 World Champion, Maksim Khramtsov, 23, of Russia.

Sharabaty launched his campaign with a nail biting 5-4 victory over Norway’s Richard Ordermann, before winning a captivating quarter-final against Morocco’s African Champion, Achraf Mahboubi, 17-15.

The semifinal contest was a brilliant match, and the Jordanian beat Uzbekistan’s Nikiti Rafalovich, the world number six, in the golden round after their breathtaking fight ended 11-11 after the three scheduled rounds.

Khramtsov proved a step too far as the Russian clinched the gold medal with a 20-9 victory, but it was a remarkable day for Al Sharabaty who becomes only the second Jordanian to win an Olympic medal, following fellow Taekwondo fighter Ahmed Abu Ghaush’s historic gold in Rio de Janeiro five years ago.

Sharabaty’s coach in Tokyo is Faris Al Asaaf, who also masterminded Abu Ghaush’s Rio victory.

Earlier in the day, there was heartbreak in taekwondo for Juliana Al Sadeq who suffered the narrowest of defeats to Brazilian, Milena Titoneli.

The pair finished their enthralling -67kg contest tied at 9-9, but the 26-year-old lost on the ‘superiority’ rule.

Also on Monday, Younis Eyal Salman made his Olympic debut in the opening round of 32 in the Judo -73kg competition.

The 28-year-old faced Turkish ninth seed, Bilal Ciloglu, but lost to the former Junior World Champion following a tough match.

Jordan’s Tokyo participation continues on Tuesday, with the Ishaish brothers, Ziad and Hussein, both opening their campaigns in their respective weights.

Ziad, 22, is one of the favourites in the -69kg weight after winning the Asian/Pacific qualifiers to book his Tokyo spot, and he meets Merven Clair, 28, of Mauritius, who already won in the round of 32 on Saturday to reach the last 16.

Older brother Hussein, 25, reached the quarter-finals at the Rio Games, and will open his account in the -91kg weight against the experienced Julio Cesar Castillo, 33, of Ecuador.

Also on Tuesday, Amro Al Wir will be looking to break another national record in the pool, when he competes in the 200m breaststroke.

On Saturday, Al Wir broke his 100m breaststroke record so will be hopeful of repeating the achievement in the longer distance.