Japan judokas urged to use failure to fire up Rio hopes

Japan's struggling judokas were urged on Saturday to accept their failure to win a men's Olympic gold medal in London and use it as a spark for recovery in time for the 2016 Games in Rio.

The Japanese men collected two silver and two bronze medals in London, failing to strike gold for the first time in 11 Games since their native sport was introduced at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.

At the 2008 Beijing Games, they won only two medals, but both were gold.

"Zero gold", cried a headline in the daily Sports Nippon. "The first humiliation in men's judo history."

"Japan's day of reckoning arrived with the full force of a tidal wave," the Kyodo news agency said.

The Japanese women grabbed one gold, one silver and one bronze.

"In judo, only gold will do," Japan's chef de mission Haruki Uemura, president of the All-Japan Judo Federation, declared before their departure for London.

Judo has been the main source of Olympic titles for Japan.

From 1964 to 2008, Japan won 123 gold medals at Olympics -- 35 of them in judo.

But the daily Nikkan Sports commented: "It may be the time to lower the bar in judo."

It said that the pressure on judokas to lift gold for the country was "too much to bear mentally".

"They should instead rejoice that they have won as many as four men's medals. There is no need to tie themselves down by aiming for gold only," it said.

"What should be done in the first place is to realise their shortcomings."

Toshihiko Koga, Japan's 71kg champion at Barcelona 1992, said his country's medal haul in London was "realistic".

The levels of nearly 200 judo-practicing countries are rising, he said. "Just a paper-thin difference separates gold, silver and bronze medallists."

The chef de mission admitted the failure was "serious".

"The levels of judo in countries around the world are even," Uemura told Japanese media. "You cannot win unless you give all you have."

Kazuo Yoshimura, director of technical development at the national federation, said his men "proved vulnerable when they fought closely."

"Our fighters depended too much on their coaches. We have failed to produce fighters who can make moves on their own," he said.

The Japanese men have been struggling to cope with the up-close-and-personal styles of their European and Asian counterparts, and consequently are being left behind on the international level, according to Kyodo's analysis.

Direct strikes of the legs and body clutches were ruled out of the competition in 2009, but the other countries have made adjustments accordingly to shut down the Japanese judokas' attacks, it said.

Fighters from Russia are prime examples as they claimed three golds, Kyodo said.

They immobilise opponents by grabbing them above the collar or hug them in close with their arm wrapped around the back, and use their power from short range.

Hiroaki Hiraoka got a heavy dose of this when he was sent sprawling to the mat in the 60-kg final by Russian Arsen Galstyan on the opening day.

"The orthodox Japanese judo style of maintaining one's distance and confronting opponents directly is a thing of the past," Kyodo said. "It is no longer the 'gentle way,' but a sport of might makes right."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/japan-judokas-urged-failure-fire-rio-hopes-175732789.html

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