Saito Ryu
Photo by Sponichi
Suzuki Keiji, head coach of the Japanese men’s judo team, responded to an online interview on the 14th and explained the decision to send Saito Ryu (JES Group), who represented Japan in the over 100kg class at the Paris Olympics, to the Pan American Open (Lima, Peru) on the 21st and 22nd of this month, saying, “One of the purposes is to earn points (related to Olympic seeding).”
As of last week, Saito was ranked 6th in the Olympic points rankings. In the semifinals, he was likely to face Temur Rahimov (Tajikistan), ranked 3rd and a winner of all five of his previous matches, Teddy Riner (France), ranked 7th and a two-time Olympic champion, or Inar Tasoev (Russia), ranked 2nd and last year’s world champion. However, Riner won a small international tournament held in Spain last weekend, overtaking Saito in the rankings. As things stand, he is expected to face Tasoev in the quarterfinals and Riner in the semifinals, which will be a tough matchup.
Suzuki and other executives noticed Riner’s moves after the World Championships in May and considered sending Saito. After Riner overtook him, they made the decision to officially send him. Tasoev was such a strong athlete that even though he lost to Riner in the final of last year’s World Championships, the International Judo Federation (IJF) made the unusual decision to declare both athletes winners after the verdict was reviewed after the tournament. Tasoev has not faced Saito, but Suzuki emphasized, “There is no need to face an athlete who does not need to face him. It is our (the executives’) job to eliminate risk. We will work to bring the possibility (of winning an Olympic gold medal) as close to 100% as possible. It is a risky decision. We are not running away from strong athletes. It is a more strategic approach.”
Saito himself was told that the travel would take more than 30 hours one way, that the current entry list consisted of four players: Saito, Riner, and two local Peruvian players who had never competed in an international tournament, and that if anyone other than Saito withdrew, the match would not go ahead and his ranking would not improve. He then told the coach, “The travel is not a risk. I’m not worried. I don’t want to let Riner have his way.” Even if he does end up facing Riner, he intends to fight head-on and not withdraw.
The aim is for Japan to win the gold medal in the heaviest weight class for the first time in four Olympic Games since the Beijing Olympics in 2008. The success or failure of this unusual dispatch will be revealed on August 2nd in Paris.
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2024-06-14 09:42:18
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