Aaron Wolf back after post Olympic slump

On the final day of the All Japan Judo Championships Fukuoka, the men's competitions were held in three weight classes. The men's -100kg weight class was won by the top seed, Wolf Aaron. This was his third win, following wins in 2016 and 2017. Wolf had been in a slump after the Tokyo Olympics. E-Judo spoke to the champ.

Wolf’s physical condition was not up to par, and he had lost three consecutive tournaments: third place at the Kodokan Cup in October, and first-round losses at the Grand Slam Tokyo and World Masters in December. The process in this tournament was not overwhelming either, but he was able to win by executing his throws at key points. He was behind Shido 2 vs. Shido 1 after a series of attacks by Koki Kumasaka. Wolf was exhausted. However, he threw with Uki-waza at 2:07 of the GS overtime to earn a “Waza-ari”. In the semifinals, he was also led by Kanta Nakano by Shido. Nakano was a strong opponent who was in very good form today.

Wolf faced Kaito Green (Nippon Sport Science University) in the final. He was unable to set up his kumite and was behind Shido 2 to Shido 1 in this match as well. Wolf inserted his left Tsuri-te into his opponent's left lapel and knocked him down with a left Ouchi-gari, earning a “Waza-ari”.

In an interview immediately after the match, Wolf commented. “I am relieved to have won, even though my performance today was not good. People criticized me for appearing too much on TV shows, and if I had lost I would have lost my position as a top player because people would have said I was 'a little bit strong in judo, an interesting person'”. He also expressed his desire to join the Japanese national team for the Paris Olympics. has the right to win two Olympic gold medals in a row. I am aiming for Paris,” .

Tokyo Olympics representative Shoichiro Mukai was eliminated in the first round. He fought Kazuki Nakanishi and lost Sumi-gaeshi “Waza-ari” and Sode-tsurikomi-goshi “Ippon” in quick succession. , he said, “I will change my weight class and aim for the Paris Olympics.” on interview. He will enter the -100kg weight class in the All-Japan Businessman Individual Championships in August.

Hyoga Ota (Asahi Kasei), the top seed in the over 100kg division, won the championship for the first time.

Read the full article at the website of EJudo.