On June 6th, the World Judo Championships will begin in Budapest, Hungary.
This year was an unusual event.
World championships are not held every year during the Olympic year. This year, the new coronavirus has postponed the Olympics by one year, and two world championships will be held in the same year. Moreover, about a month after this world championship, the Olympics are on the horizon.
Therefore, there were some concerns about the level of the tournament and the highlights, but it seems that it will end in a melancholy. This is because the strong players from overseas will participate more than expected, and the Japanese who do not dispatch the Olympic team will have a lot of fun players such as talented people who are not inferior to it and young people who are looking at the 2024 Paris Olympics. ..
Speaking of aiming for Paris, there is Genki Koga, a 60kg class who won the first victory in the All Japan Selection Weight Championship in April and became a representative. He is the second son of Toshihiko Koga, who died on March 24, known for his activities such as the Barcelona Olympic gold medal.
Koga won international competitions of all ages, such as the World Cadet Championship and the World Junior Championships, and was longing for the future, but he felt sluggish during his college days. The 2018 and 2019 All Japan Selection Weight Championships were also not available.
Although he participated in the 2020 All Japan Selection Weight, which was also held as the Kodokan Cup, he participated in this spring’s selection weight for the first time as a normal format. However, just before the tournament, he suffered an injury to his left knee that he thought he would miss.
Victory that went forward and grabbed without running away
In the tournament, he won well, and in the final, he had one combined technique. I got my first victory.
“There were wake-ups and farewell ceremonies, but I felt like my dad was telling me to do what I was going to do for the match, so I trained all day long and came here.”
Above all, the reason for winning was “feeling is the best”. In the previous game, he continued to move forward aggressively, reflecting on the fact that he had a side to escape. It was a fruitful tournament.
The style of judo may not be the same as that of my father, which is symbolized by a dynamic seoi-nage. However, his attitude of participating through injuries and showing his positive attitude was reminiscent of his father, who hated to lose.
“My goal is to win the gold medal at the Olympics, so I want to win one by one.”
Ryuju Nagayama, a talented candidate for the Tokyo Olympics, will also participate in the same class of the world championships. Nagayama also has the goal of winning the world championship, which he has not yet reached in his previous appearances.
Foreigners are also tough, and it is not easy to reach the top. Nevertheless, Koga decides to leave results as a step toward the Paris Olympics.
Looking outside Japan, some have set this tournament as an opportunity to be selected for the Tokyo Olympics. In that respect, the women’s 57 kg class is drawing attention. Canada, which has two players who occupy the first and second place in the world ranking, will represent the one with the highest grade. One of the candidates is Christa Deguchi, who is ranked number one in the world. He is the 2019 World Championship gold medalist and a player who has been active in Japan before that.
