“I started to hate judo.” Paris Olympics gold medalist Natsumi Tsunoda now reveals the frustration that made her think of “retiring.” “I would rather do judo like this…”[NumberTV]- Judo – Number Web

Oldest gold medalist in Japanese women’s judo history

“My family supported me, and my high school and university teachers, as well as the person who taught me tomoe, came to watch the match.The reason I was able to fight without giving up is that I’m grateful to all those people for their support. I fought with the desire to win a medal for them.”

When Natsumi Tsunoda stood in front of a photo, she was at a loss for words. Tears were glistening in his eyes.

“When I look at photos from the Olympics, it’s no good. It reminds me of the award ceremony…”

Paris Olympics women’s judo 48kg class. Tsunoda became the oldest woman in Japanese women’s judo history to win a gold medal at the age of 31 years and 11 months. In 4 out of 5 matches, he used his signature tomoe throw and arm-hishigi cross to secure victory. Although he has shown overwhelming strength in recent years, his path to the gold medal cannot be said to be smooth sailing. Until his mid-20s, he was virtually unknown and had no connection to the Olympics. After repeated injuries and setbacks, he finally reached the pinnacle.

Her unusual weight class change from 52kg to 48kg in 2019 was undoubtedly a major turning point for her, but in fact, two years earlier, she had suffered a setback so severe that the words “retirement” were too obvious. are.

The World Championships were held in Budapest (Hungary) in August 2017. Tsunoda had been suffering from injuries since the beginning of the year, and just before the tournament he suffered an avulsion and fracture in the top of his right foot, but he still managed to come in second place.

“I’ve only participated in two international tournaments, and this was my first experience at the World Championships.There wasn’t much pressure, but even more so was the joy of being able to participate in this tournament.I was a little nervous, but… I was nervous, but I went into the tournament with the mindset of a challenger, just trying to do what I can.”

However, the response to the silver medal was greater than expected, and after that, the pressure weighed heavily on Tsunoda.

“I was very worried about what I was going to do.Even though I wasn’t that strong, I turned into a strong player in terms of results.I felt like my ability wasn’t up to that point (winning a silver medal).People around me said, I started thinking about what kind of judo people would do if they won silver medals at the world level, and how strong they would be, and what I would do if they were disappointed. It wasn’t fun anymore, and I started to hate judo more and more.”

If you’re doing judo like this, it’s better not to do it…

My desire to live up to the expectations of those around me was the result of overworking myself.

“During practice, I would usually enjoy the tactics, throwing and being thrown, but I was forced into a routine where I had to appear stronger than necessary, like “I shouldn’t be thrown.” I didn’t know what kind of judo I should be doing.If I couldn’t enjoy judo anymore, it wasn’t my judo, and I started to think that it would be better not to do judo than to do it like this.”

In December 2017, he finished in 7th place at both the Grand Slam Tokyo and the World Masters, losing badly. His doubts affected his results, and he found himself in a vicious cycle: “If I lose a game, practice becomes less fun, and because I don’t enjoy practice, I can’t win in games.”