The fighters were a head smaller than him, the Korean Kim Min-chong in the semi-finals and the Russian Tamerlan Bashayev, who was designated as a neutral athlete, in the bronze medal match. “Once you reach the semi-finals, you want to grab a medal. But I wasn’t feeling well today, I was crazy tired all day,” he admitted to Radiožurnál Sport.
To blame was the demanding preparation in Japan, which he is aiming for the Olympic peak and the attack on the defense in the heaviest weight. “I thought it would be over sometime after the opening matches, I finally managed to get to the final block, which I’m happy about,” he recounted.
And that stood in his way in the very first fight, the unpopular juice of Saba Inaneišvili from Georgia. A year ago at the Grand Slam in Abu Dhabi, the Czech ace ended his journey with the tournament. “I was preparing for that match, I didn’t want to lose to him. He grabbed me, I was punished, but I had something I wanted to throw at him,” he described.
When he tried to do it, the Georgian injured his hand painfully in the fall and could not continue. “Unfortunately, he fell stupidly and did something to her. I’m very sorry, I apologized to him, I was taking my opponent off the mat,” regretted Krpálek.
The path to the medal fights led through the Slovenian Vito Dragič and the previous year’s world champion Andy Granda from Cuba. “We meet often and I almost always managed to beat him. We’re both left-handed, whatever I get into, he counters. He is not an easy opponent for me, but today was perhaps the easiest match,” acknowledged the two-time world champion.
The semi-final fight with the Korean Kim was decided only in the golden score. “I wanted to wash his technique, unfortunately I missed a bit with my foot and fell on my side. He was to be beaten, I will be very sorry for that,” he regretted.
Only 175 cm tall, Bashajev was last beaten by Krpálek six years ago, this time the Russian made a key grab in the last minute. “They are opponents who will also fight for a medal at the Olympics, the top is balanced. After the match with the Cuban, I felt better and finally showed some judo, unfortunately it wasn’t enough for a medal,” he regretted.
“You have to be prepared for such ‘slippers’, I fought with similar ones in Japan and was extremely tired of it. But the Olympics will be extremely important for me,” reminded Krpálek, who remains in the United Arab Emirates until Sunday. After his return, camps in Poreč, Japan and final preparation for his fourth Olympics await him.
2024-05-23 17:21:45
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