Klimkait vs Yoshida, who will prevail?

In an interview earlier this month with Kyodo News, former World Champion Tsukasa Yoshida said: "If the Games are held, I'll win the gold medal." Given Jessica Klimkait's sterling performance at the 2021 World Championships, Yoshida's confidence might be misplaced.

These two have fought four times and the score is two wins each. If you look at those stats alone, that might seem like a tie but actually Yoshida lost the last two times they fought, which was in 2019. The first two times, which Yoshida won, was way back in 2016 and 2015 — considered an eternity in judo terms.

Perhaps Yoshida was thinking of avenging her defeat to Klimkait's compatriot, Christa Deguchi, at the 2019 World Championships. Deguchi wsa the odds-on favorite to be selected or the Tokyo Olympics as she was the reigning World Champion and had beaten Klimkait in every international encounter they have had (six in all).

But as it turned out, the 2021 World's Deguchi didn't even make it to the final. It was Klimkait who did it. And when she won the gold, it bought her the ticket to the Olympics.

In Tokyo, it will be Yoshida (who wasn't at the 2021 World's) and Klimkait who will be the top favorites. This will be a super exciting match-up. Uchimata vs Drop Seoi-Nage. Which one will prevail?