On Sarah Asahina’s shoulders was camouflaged the recent scent of her triumph and a gold that perhaps she herself did not expect. But when the judge pointed to her corner with her right hand raised and inclined, she not only discovered with pride her status as champion, but also the excruciating pain that barely allowed Wakaba Tomita, on the other side of the mat, to manage to stand.
In the compatriots’ final, the division of the more than 78 kilograms of the Budapest Judo World Cup had seen Asahina win, but a face that was lying shamelessly to those present in the arena was surprised by Lászlo Papp, a face without any hint of joy, without those slanted eyes at least damp with emotion.
I say more: his indifference was as forceful as an ippon, although inside the happiness threatened to clog his pores bathed in sweat and come out in the form of screams or jumps or any other Japanese madness. But Asahina was still serious, grim, excessively timid and stoically resisted the onslaught of delirium, which was pulling at the lapel without being able to remove anything inside her.
The image of Wakaba Tomita, on the other hand, did not need words, nor screams, nor jumps, nor tears. Nothing. Pain washed over him cruelly. And it was not just that stinging sensation that loosens even the cartilage, but the embers of disappointment that burned her inside: she had lost the World Cup.
And so, a concoction of discords, laments and self-conscious happiness left the Arena in silence, shortly before the most significant part of the story happened, even more than that seen on the tatami just a few minutes before.
Tomita couldn’t get out of her corner. He wanted to curtsy and walk away with his head down, not looking at the stands, not even striking his eyes with his coach. That’s how withered her self-esteem looked. After nine minutes and 36 seconds of combat, he had failed. Or more accurately: he had missed his injured leg, costing him a decisive false attack in defeat.
But Asahina, as noble as she is robust, decided to postpone her frenzy and even made the coach wait for the hug she craved from the very moment they started training with their eyes set on the Hungarian contest and with the distant dream of placing on the forehead of the sturdy judoka the crown of universal monarch.
Then he pulled hard on the body of the defeated rival and carried her on his back, before leaving the tatami with her on top to make the bow that Tomita wanted and could not achieve due to the terrible pain in her knee. And those present in the Arena applauded excitedly by such a gesture, which once again placed Asahina at the top, this time moral, of female judo.
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