TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan's judoka Yang Yung-wei (楊勇緯) on Saturday (July 29) took the silver medal in men's judo at the 31st FISU World University Games currently being held in Chengdu, China.

Yang squared off against Japan's Nakamura Taiki in the gold medal round of the men's 60 kg category of judo at the Chengdu 2021 Summer World University Games, which had been postponed for two years due to the COVID pandemic. Although Yang ultimately lost in the final match, he still secured a silver medal, reported CNA.

Yang, who is a member of the indigenous Paiwan people, had a bye in the first round on Saturday. In the round of 16, he defeated German judoka Alessio Murrone and in the quarterfinals, he bested Algerian opponent Younes Ben Laribi with ease.

Yang (right) controls opponent. (Chinese Taipei University Sports Federation photo)

After advancing to the semi-finals, Yang encountered tenacious resistance from the Uzbek competitor Kamoliddin Bakhtiyorov. The match was so closely contested that it went into a sudden death round, but Yang was able to emerge with a victory.

In the gold medal match, Yang started out by taking an aggressive approach, initially putting pressure on Nakamura, but Nakamura managed to defend effectively. Both athletes had their offensive moments, but Yang displayed more initiative, causing Nakamura to receive a penalty point, reported SET News.

With 1 minute and 23 seconds remaining in the match, Nakamura seemed to execute a potentially dangerous move, leading to a temporary pause in the match. After reviewing the situation, the referee determined that Nakamura had not committed any fouls, and the match resumed.

Yang (left) faces off with Nakamura. (Chinese Taipei University Sports Federation photo)

In the final moments of the match, Nakamura used a grappling technique to pin Yang for over 20 seconds, securing crucial points, and the match ended with Nakamura as the winner. Yang took home the silver medal in the 60-kg category.

Yang, who won the silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, competed in the World University Games for the second time in his career. His previous appearance was at the World University Games in Taiwan in 2017, when he finished fifth, but he did not participate in the subsequent games held in Naples in 2019.

Yang (right) grapples with Nakamura. (Chinese Taipei University Sports Federation photo)