Daiki Nishiyama failed to conquer Athens Olympic champion Ilias Iliadis in the men's 90-kg final Friday, leaving Japan's men without a top podium finish on the second day of action at the World Judo Championships.
After just two days, the men have more medals than the two they brought home in Rotterdam, Netherlands, last year, but the gold eluded them after Takamasa Anai got the team off to a stellar start with his victory at 100 kg on Thursday.
Though not quite redemption, it is still an improvement from winning no golds at last year's worlds with three days of competition remaining at Yoyogi National Gymnasium.