Japan’s Oka wins third gold on horizontal bar

PARIS: Shinnosuke Oka’s fairytale debut Olympics got even better on Monday as the Japanese gymnast added horizontal bar gold to his team and all-around titles.

The 20-year-old, who also has a bronze in parallel bars for good measure, scored the same 14.533 points as Colombia’s Angel Barajas, but took gold on the strength of his higher execution mark. China’s Zhang Boheng and Taiwan’s Tang Chia-Hung shared bronze. Oka, basking in the glow of his golden haul, said he felt the pressure drop off once he had helped Japan to the team title.

“My favourite one is of course the gold medal in the team final, because that’s what we’ve been working so hard for. It’s a collective result,” said Oka. “After the team final, the pressure was off my shoulders. I was just able to perform with less pressure” he commented.

Teenager Barajas made it a red-letter day for Colombia with the country’s first-ever Olympic gymnastics medal. “I know I did a good job and wrote history for Colombia by doing so. To be a 17-year-old in the Olympics is a crazy experience, but it is more important to just enjoy it out there” he said.

The final was marked by several falls and fumbled dismounts, with Tang and in particular Japan’s Takaaki Sugino hitting the deck to gasps from the crowd. Denmark’s Axelsen retains mens’ Olympic badminton title

Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen retained his Olympic badminton title on Monday, demolishing Thailand’s world champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn in the men’s singles final in Paris. Backed by a vocal crowd of Danish fans at La Chapelle Arena, the second-seeded Axelsen battled past his eighth-seeded opponent 21-11, 21-11 in 52 minutes.

The lanky Dane became the first man to retain his Olympic men’s singles title since Chinese legend Lin Dan, who won in 2008 and 2012. Vitidsarn’s silver was Thailand’s first-ever Olympic medal in badminton.

The Thai made a good start but Axelsen soon settled into his rhythm and built up a commanding lead in the first game. He closed it out in 24 minutes, raising his hand in apology after winning the game with a shot that hit the net tape and flopped over.

Axelsen was again unstoppable in the second game, unleashing the full force of his 6ft 4in (1m94) frame to rain down smashes. China’s Zou Jingyuan defends Olympic men’s parallel bars title

China’s Zou Jingyuan produced a commanding performance on the parallel bars to successfully defend his Olympic title at the Paris Games on Monday. Zou, only the second ever back-to-back Olympic champion on the apparatus, was joined on the podium by Ukraine’s Illia Kovtun in silver, with Japan’s Shinnosuke Oka claiming bronze.

Kovtun was first to go and set a high standard with a score of 15.500 points. He led the pack until Zou took to the stage to win over the judges and the crowd with his faultless 16.200pt routine.

He let out a triumphant cry after an explosive dismount, knowing he had done enough to emulate Japan’s Sawao Kato, Olympic champion in 1972 and 1976. “I’m super excited for this result, because coming to these Olympics, I had injuries,” the 26-year-old said.

Germany wins mixed team relay triathlon Germany won gold in the mixed triathlon relay on Monday at the Paris Olympics, with the event disrupted by illnesses that saw at least three teams report sick team members who swam in the River Seine last week.

In a thrilling climax to the team race through central Paris, Germany’s Laura Lindemann won a sprint finish, narrowly edging out Taylor Knibb from the United States in second and Beth Potter from Britain in third.

The Belgian team did not race at all after their athlete Claire Michel fell sick, reportedly with E.Coli, having swum in the Seine during the women’s individual triathlon last Wednesday. The Swiss team also had to bring in a replacement after their racer Adrien Briffod suffered a gastrointestinal infection, while Norwegian competitor Vetle Bergsvik Thorn told AFP he too had been stricken with a stomach bug after the men’s race last week.

“I was sick for about 12 hours, overnight from Friday to Saturday,” he said. “I don’t know if it was food poisoning or from the Seine. Obviously it wasn’t the best preparation for today.” The relay is a four-person sprint triathlon, with Monday’s race seeing two men and two women completing a 300-metre swim in the Seine, a seven-kilometre (4.3-mile) bike ride through central Paris and a 1.8 km run.