TOKYO: Japanese wrestler Risako Kawai clinched a gold medal in the women’s 57-kilogram division in the Tokyo Olympic Games on Thursday, her second straight Olympic title after she won a different division in Rio de Janeiro.

Her latest victory came a day after her younger sister, Yukako, captured gold in the 62 kg division.

In the women’s table tennis team event, host Japan lost to China 3-0 in the final and took a silver medal.

The athletics portion of the Tokyo Olympics that is hosted in the northern Japan city of Sapporo started on Thursday, with Japan’s Koki Ikeda and Toshikazu Yamanishi winning silver and bronze, respectively, in the men’s 20-kilometer race walk.

It was the second Summer Games in a row for Japan to win a medal in the sport, with Ikeda’s silver the best result by a Japanese athlete. Their medals were also the first for the 20-km event.

As of Thursday, Japan’s total medal count in the Tokyo Games stood at a record high of 43, with athletes winning 21 gold medals, eight silvers and 14 bronzes.

The previous record was the 41 medals earned in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

Also on Thursday, Japanese boxer Ryomei Tanaka won a bronze medal in the men’s 48- to 52-kilogram flyweight category.

In track and field, Japan advanced to Friday’s final in the men’s 4×100-meter relay, after finishing third in the first heat. Japan won silver in the event in the previous Olympics.

JIJI Press