ONO Shohei wins gold for host nation and retains Olympic crown in historic judo men’s 73kg
Master class from Japan’s ONO Shohei as he beats Georgia’s Lasha Shavdatuashvili in men’s judo 73kg and becomes first judoka to retain Olympic title in event at Tokyo 2020 at Nippon Budokan.
Japan’s ONO Shohei showed the world why he is king of the men’s judo 73kg class after adding another title to his belt at Tokyo 2020 at the Nippon Budokan on 26 July. He also goes into the history books as the first judoka to retain his title in the class.
The three-time world champion and reigning Olympic champion, who has not been beaten in international competition since 2015, took down Georgia’s Lasha Shavdatuashvili in a tough bout, which lasted 9:25 minutes.
It was yet another performance of composure and class from 29-year-old Ono, who waited for the right moment to overpower the 29-year-old Rio 2016 bronze medallist.
The contest went to a golden score before the judoka showed his dominance with a waza-ari - the second highest score a fighter can achieve in a Japanese martial arts behind an ippon. His victory was the fourth gold medal in judo at the Games for Japan, which is the birthplace of the sport.
I am now 29 years old and I have reached the point where I can be called a veteran. I understood that it was becoming less and less possible to compete at the Nippon Budokan, the sacred place of martial arts.
I stared at the ceiling, trying to burn the view in my mind. From now on, my judo life will continue. I want to continue to train to beat myself.”
Speaking after the match at the Nippon Budokan, which is the spiritual home of the sport, Ono said: “Since the end of the Rio Olympics, I have had a lot of difficult and painful days, and it has been like a condensed version of that in this one day's battle. Before the Games, all I felt was pessimism and anxiety, after all, the Olympic stage is a difficult place to achieve results.
“I am now 29 years old and I have reached the point where I can be called a veteran. I understood that it was becoming less and less possible to compete at the Nippon Budokan, the sacred place of martial arts. I stared at the ceiling, trying to burn the view in my mind. From now on, my judo life will continue. I want to continue to train to beat myself.”
In the bronze medal matches Mongolia’s Tsogtbaatar Tsend-Ochir dispatched Canada’s Arthur Margelidon in just 32 seconds with an ippon.
The second bronze was awarded to Republic of Korea’s AN Changrim who overpowered Rio 2016 silver medallist Azerbaijan’s Rustam Orujov, who won silver in Rio 2016.