Judo: Downed by illness - and world champ

New Zealand Olympic judoka Daniel Gowing was always going to find it tough to advance far on Thursday after battling illness and being drawn against a contemporary great.

Aucklander Gowing was beaten in the second round of 100kg competition by world champion Kosei Inoue of Japan, considered by many the best exponent in the world in any weight division.

The fight lasted just 16 seconds, with Gowing surprised by Inoue's twisting crouch move which resulted in loss by ippon.

``I trained in the same dojo in Japan as Kosei for a month before coming here and I thought I had him worked out,'' Gowing said.

``But that move really shocked me. There's no doubt he's the greatest judo player at the Olympics.

``He's quick and explosive so it's very hard to catch him. Of course he's always going to attack you with something incredibly quick and strong.''

Gowing looked at his unfortunate draw in two ways.

``Of course you want to go further but there's always the chance of knocking down a great judo player which I'm always up for. But today it didn't happen.''

Gowing, 29, was New Zealand's most experienced and highly-rated judoka in their four-strong team but has battled a debilitating cold during the past four days.

He believed the illness was why he let a lead slip late in his repechage fight against Cuban Yosvani Kessel. Gowing lost by ippon with less than a minute remaining in their five-minute bout.

``I felt sharp today but my physical fitness has been knocked for six,'' he said.

``If I wasn't in this condition I probably would have fought that out and won it on the minor point I had. But that last minute is always hell out there and the Cubans are really fit.''

A win over Kessel could have seen Gowing eventually advance to fight for the bronze medal.

His only win came in his first round fight when he defeated inexperienced Venezualan Luis Gregorio Lopez by ippon.

Gowing will return to New Zealand for a week before returning to Germany where he will prepare for the Commonwealth championships in Birmingham.

- NZPA