London silver medallist Hiroaki Hiraoka retires

Hiroaki Hiraoka, the men's 60-kilogram silver medallist at the 2012 London Olympics, announced his retirement as an active judoka. The 31-year-old Hiraoka missed out on a place at this summer's Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

"I want to thank everybody and retire," Hiraoka said at a press conference in Urayasu, Chiba Prefecture. "I decided to move on to the next stage. I have no regrets. I have done all that I could. I had a precious competitive career." 

Hiraoka will continue postgraduate studies at Tsukuba University and work to becoming an instructor. Hiraoka beat three-time Olympic champion Tadahiro Nomura in the semifinals of the national weight-class championships en route to winning an Olympic debut at the 2008 Beijing Games. He was sent to a shock defeat to unheralded American Taraje Williams-Murray in his first match in Beijing, but rebounded to win silver in London. "That was a crossroads in my life," Hiraoka said of the experience in Beijing. "That gave my mind the chance to become stronger."

"My most memorable match was the Beijing Olympics. I have criticized after the Beijing here in Japan, but it made me grow as a better Judoka. After being defeated in the first match and after being under the public scrutiny, there were times I wanted to drop everything and run away. However, through the efforts of accepting and facing all the public criticisms, I have become who I am today. Therefore, the Beijing Olympic was a significant match, that which served as a turning point in my life." 

In 2013 Hiraoka stepped up to the category U66kg but couldn’t overcome his two heavy knee injuries and operations. Hiraoka won three World Championships medals in 2009, 2010 and 2011. he was five time Japanese champion and won international events such as the Grand Prix of Dusseldorf in 2011 and medals at IJF World Masters in 2010 and 2012. He was Asian champion in 2008. In London he fought his last international match at the Olynmpic Games when he lost the final against Arsen Galstyan.

"I want to be a judo coach. So in one or two years, I am going to work towards getting my Ph.d in sports medicine. And some day I wanna be a support for world wide judokas."