The mixed country competition is a new part of the Games. Six judokas, three men and three women, from different weight classes compete against each other.
In addition to Grol, Sanne Verhagen, Sanne Van Dijke, Guusje Steenhuis, Noël van ‘t End and Tornike Tsjakadoea also came into action on behalf of the Netherlands.
Henk Grol waves off as a judoka after the Games.
Ⓒ ANP
Henk Grol
Although Grol missed a slice, he was allowed to leave the famous Budokan in Tokyo with his head held high. After a difficult start to the day, he straightened up and impressively won his very last match as a judoka, on ippon.
Grol won bronze in the category under 100 kilograms at the 2008 (Beijing) and 2012 (London) Games. He also won silver three times at a World Cup and was crowned European champion three times.
Semi finals
The Dutch judokas lost 4-0 to France in the semi-finals, leaving a battle for the bronze. Tsjakadua had to recognize his superior in Chaine in the opening match. In the women’s competition, Van Dijke then lost to Clarisse Agbegnenou. Van ‘t End couldn’t bring back the tension against Axel Clerget either and after Steenhuis’ loss to Romane Dicko, it was all over.
teasing spirit
The Netherlands qualified for the semi-finals via victories over Uzbekistan (4-3) and Brazil (4-2) Grol initially seemed to be heading for a gruesome retreat. On Friday, during his first appearance in the individual tournament, he was defeated by Bekmurod Oltiboev after 25 seconds. On Saturday he hit the Uzbek again and was even thrown on his back after 19 seconds. In the tie-breaker, however, Grol straightened out and defeated his teaser in the golden score on penalties.
End balance
Now that the mixed country competition is over, the final balance can be picked up for the judokas. The Netherlands has only one medal left from the judo tournament at the Olympic Games. That plaque was in the name of Van Dijke, who took bronze in the class up to 70 kilograms.
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