Reigning world champion judoka Naohisa Takato led Japan's haul of four gold medals on Saturday, the first day of the Paris Grand Slam in the French capital.
Takato picked up his fourth win at the prestigious event after defeating former world champion Yeldos Smetov of Kazakhstan in the men's 60-kilogram division. The 25-year-old countered a last-ditch effort from Smetov with 13 seconds left in the final for a waza-ari and a record ninth Grand Slam title.
"The world level (of competition) in the 60-kg division is fairly low, so it's typical for me to win. I stayed calm and was able to find my opponent's weak spot," Takato said. "I think I can start a winning streak from here out going into 2019 and 2020."