Japan’s Tsukimi Namiki earned the bronze medal in the women’s boxing flyweight division at the Tokyo Olympics on Wednesday but was her own harshest critic after missing out on a place in the final.
The 22-year-old from Chiba Prefecture took bronze after losing to Stoyka Zhelyazkova Krasteva of Bulgaria in a unanimous decision in the semifinals at Kokugikan Arena.
“I’m really disappointed to lose, to be honest,” said Namiki. “I could not dictate the tempo. Looking back I should have taken the initiative and fought harder.”
“There were many things my performance was lacking and I wasn’t mentally strong enough either. I wanted to win the gold medal.”
Namiki’s medal was the second for Japan in women’s boxing at these Games following Sena Irie’s golden triumph in the featherweight final on Tuesday.
Krasteva, a two-time world silver medalist at bantamweight, will face Buse Naz Cakiroglu for the gold medal after the Turk beat Huang Hsiao-wen of Taiwan in an earlier semifinal.
“The happiness from this moment will last until I get to the dressing room. Then I will concentrate on the final,” said Krasteva, who was cautioned by Argentine referee Manuel Vilarino for repeatedly shoving Namiki over in the first round.
“The job here is not finished. I will try and do what my coaches have prepared me to do here.”
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