Koki Kano holds his gold medal after winning the men's epee competition at the 2025 World Fencing Championships in Tbilisi, Georgia, on July 27. (©KYODO)
Koki Kano continues to raise the standard of excellence for Japanese fencers.
The two-time Olympian triumphed in dramatic fashion in the men's epee final at the 2025 World Fencing Championships in Tbilisi, Georgia, beating Hungary's Gergely Siklosi 10-9 in overtime on Sunday, July 27.
In the high-stakes pressure of overtime, Kano relied on his skilled fencing fundamentals and tactical brilliance to conquer Siklosi.
What was the decisive maneuver?
Kano secured the title with a straightforward thrust to Siklosi's chest, giving him his 10th point of the back-and-forth match.
To reach the gold-medal match against Siklosi, Kano outpointed compatriot Masaru Yamada 15-8 in the semifinals at the Olympic Palace. He also topped Team Japan representative Akira Komata in the quarterfinals.
Kano, 27, was ecstatic after his victorious achievement against Siklosi, calling Sunday "a wonderful day for me."
"I couldn't get a medal this season until now," Kano said, according to the International Fencing Federation website. "While the Olympics is only once every four years, the World [Fencing] Championships are a very important competition. All matches were difficult for me, and the final was only one touch."
He continued: "Siklosi was so strong, it was all mental. Now my goal [in 2028] is to get the individual and team gold medals in Los Angeles."
Success for Koki Kano
Koki Kano became an Olympic gold medalist for the first time at the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Olympics in July 2021, helping lead Japan to the title in the men's team epee competition.
Three years later, the Aichi Prefecture native became an Olympic champion in an individual event, defeating France's Yannick Borel 15-9 in the final at the Paris Games. Doing so, he won Japan's first-ever Olympic gold in an individual fencing event.
In 2022, Kano also became Japan's first fencer in 45 years to win an individual epee title at the Asian Fencing Championships in Seoul.
The Waseda University alum collected his second individual title at the Asian Championships a year later in Wuxi, China.
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Volleyball
Japan Loses 3rd-Place Match at Women's Nations League
Poland outplayed Japan in the third-place match at the 2025 FIVB Women's Volleyball Nations League on Sunday, July 27, winning 25-15, 24-26, 25-16, 25-23.
The match, held in Lodz, Poland, was essentially decided at the net, with the hosts registering 15 blocks to Japan's two.
Middle blocker Haruyo Shimamura paced Japan with 15 points, including 13 attack points. Mayu Ishikawa finished with 12 points. Japan was the 2024 Volleyball Nations League runner-up.
For Poland, Magdalena Stysiak had a match-best 18 points, including a pair of blocks.
Also Sunday, 2024 Paris Olympic champion Italy rallied past Brazil in a four-set final, earning a 22-25, 25-18, 25-22, 25-22 victory. As a result, Italy captured its second straight Women's Volleyball Nations League crown.
The 2025 FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship, a 32-nation tournament from August 22 to September 7 in Thailand, is the next major international competition.
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Basketball
Japan's 12-Man Roster Revealed for FIBA Asia Cup
The Japan men's national team is making preparations for the upcoming 2025 FIBA Asia Cup (August 5-17) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Akatsuki Japan head coach Tom Hovasse has finalized the squad's 12-man roster for the continental tournament.
Nine-time B.League All-Star point guard Yuki Togashi of the Chiba Jets is, at age 31, the oldest player on the roster, which was announced on Sunday, July 27.
Alvark Tokyo's Kai Toews and Okinawa native John Lawrence Harper Jr (Sunrockers Shibuya) are the other point guards.
Hovasse selected Yudai Nishida (SeaHorses Mikawa) and Keisei Tominaga (Levanga Hokkaido), who recently participated in the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, as the shooting guards.
The small forwards are Akira Jacobs (University of Hawaii), Ren Kanechika (Jets), Yudai Baba (free agent) and Hirotaka Yoshii (San-en NeoPhoenix). Jacobs, 21, is the youngest player on Japan's FIBA Asia Cup team.
Longtime B.League player Josh Hawkinson (Sunrockers), who made an impact for Akatsuki Japan at the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup and the 2024 Paris Olympics, adds versatility at the power forward and center positions.
Centers Toyoshige Kano (Sunrockers) and Koya Kawamata (Nagasaki Velca) also made the team.
Japan is in Group B for the group phase of the 16-nation FIBA Asia Cup. Its first-round matches are against Syria (August 6), Iran (August 8) and Guam (August 10).
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Tennis
Osaka, Coach Mouratoglou Sever Partnership
Naomi Osaka and French coach Patrick Mouratoglou have parted ways, the four-time Grand Slam singles champion announced on social media on Monday, July 28.
On the same day, Osaka began working with Polish coach Tomasz Wiktorowski in what is being described as a trial period.
World No 49 Osaka won her first match with new mentorship, beating Canadian Ariana Arseneault 6-4, 6-2 in the first round of the National Bank Open on Monday in Montreal.
Wiktorowski is an ex-coach of former world No 2 Agnieszka Radwanska and Iga Swiatek, a former world No 1.
Osaka's partnership with Mouratoglou began after her second-round defeat at the US Open in August 2024. He replaced Winn Fissette.
"Merci Patrick," Osaka wrote in an Instagram post. "It was such a great experience learning from you. Wishing you nothing but the best. You are one of the coolest people I've ever met and I'm sure I'll see you around."
Osaka, 27, was eliminated in the second round of the Mubadala Citi DC Open on July 24, dropping a 6-4, 6-2 match to Emma Raducanu. It was Mouratoglou's final match as Osaka's coach.
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Author: Ed Odeven
Find Ed on JAPAN Forward's dedicated website, SportsLook. Follow his [Japan Sports Notebook] on Sundays, [Odds and Evens] during the week, and X (formerly Twitter) ＠ed_odeven.
