Rumors of misjudgment and suspicion of roulette – The judo competition at the Paris Olympics was a topic of great confusion outside of the tatami mats. Takanori Nagase (31 years old) in the 81 kg class ignored the commotion and won his second consecutive gold medal. Its solemn appearance has become a hot topic on social media, with people saying it’s too Nagase. What is the memory of the big stage that the “strongest man” in Japanese judo looks back on?[2nd of 3 NumberWeb interviews/Read more]
Using his losses as inspiration, he thinks about the movements and techniques needed to win, and does his best in practice. The accumulation of study, like stacking up sheets of washi paper, enabled him to achieve the remarkable feat of winning three consecutive medals in Rio, Tokyo, and Paris.
What I kept in mind was to “return to the basics of judo.”
Takanori Nagase, 31, had no fear or nerves as he waited for the semifinals and finals of the men’s 81kg judo competition at the Paris Olympics.
“I was able to see the results of my repeated training one by one.I remember that it was even fun to be able to recreate the kumite, movements, and techniques that I had practiced on the tatami.”
What I kept in mind to win the gold medal was very simple.
“Each match means returning to the basics of judo. To do this, create your own kumite. By attacking and defending sharply in order to gain an advantage over your opponent, you will also be applying pressure. ”
The basics of judo are the “fishing hand”, which holds the collar with the right hand, and the “hikitate”, which holds the sleeve with the left hand. Nagase thoroughly pursued this basic principle of firmly grasping the collar and sleeves of the gi and moving forward to perform techniques.
“I was confident that if I kept this attitude, I wouldn’t lose today.”
The semi-finalist will be Italy’s Antonio Esposito (29 years old), ranked 13th in the world. This player, who has consistently ranked high in international competitions in recent years, was Nagase’s first opponent.
“We had about three hours of free time before the semi-finals, so we carefully analyzed Esposito’s tactics. When we watched the video of him winning the match, he was the type to attack first. His opponent’s pace In order to prevent this from happening, we needed to take the initiative and block the movement.”
Nagase attacked exactly as he said. A little over a minute into the match, he used a supporting attack to get a waza-ari, and then used a ground move to hold him down and get the second waza-ari. He won with a single combination technique, and it took only two and a half minutes.
On the afternoon of the 30th local time in Paris, and late at night on the 31st Japan time, the stage was set for the final. His opponent is Georgia’s Tato Grigarashvili (24 years old). Georgia’s judo incorporates elements of martial arts such as wrestling, making it difficult for Japanese athletes.
