In the men’s team, Kaishi Kokusai won Teikyo Nagaoka 3-0 and decided V4. Shota Sugawara (2nd year) scored a shoulder throw in 34 seconds in the vice general match, which was 1-0 (1 win and 2 draws), and won the championship without waiting for the general match. During Arakawa Middle Ages, he was the only member of the judo club and has participated in Kaishi Kokusai’s practice since the second year of middle school. The “fast-growing stock” who joined the team from this spring’s district tournament pulled in the championship.

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I couldn’t contain my joy at the victory. Sugawara roared when he finished the opponent with a shoulder throw in 34 seconds. Ippon win that decided victory and V4 of the team at the same time. It was such an explosion of joy that the referee warned him. “I felt the pressure of my opponent all the time. The joy of repelling the pressure from Teikyo Nagaoka and Yuyo Yaginuma (2nd year) reached a boiling point.

Four of the finalists are second-year students. However, Sugawara was more familiar with Kaishi International Judo than anyone else, including third-year students. Participated in practice on Saturdays and Sundays from the spring of the second year of Arakawa Junior High School. The judo club member, who was the only one in the group, jumped into a strong school in Tainai City, next to Murakami City, saying, “I want to participate in the national tournament.” “It was tough at first, but I got used to it.” The only Judo club member in Arakawa Junior High School was participating in the individual 81 kg class.

Most high school members are from this year. Outside the members at the national championship in March, coach Futoshi Okura (55) says “rapid growth”. He distinguished himself by taking 3rd place in Kaishunki (Fukushima) in February and 2nd place in the Kikkawa Hai (Toyama) in May, and joined the team from the regional tournament. He was the result of studying strong kumite by watching YouTube of strong players. The Inter-High is Sugawara’s first national tournament in high school. “I want to speed up the timing to start carrying on my back,” and continue to grow towards the big stage. (Japanese original by Mikio Wakui, City News Department)