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Japan releases Tokyo 2020 generation with 10 Worlds debutants among 18-strong team

Japan releases Tokyo 2020 generation with 10 Worlds debutants among 18-strong team

3 Aug 2017 09:10
by Mark Pickering - IJF
IJF Media Team / International Judo Federation

Japan have been revitalised under the reign of head coach Inoue Kosei and were back on top of the Olympic medal table in Rio after a below-par outing in London. Judo’s founding nation won three gold medals in Brazil, a silver medal and eight bronze medals as 12 members of their 14-strong team returned home with medals.

There is no time for champions to be savoured for too long in Japan as the sport moves quickly and there are torrents of judoka at schools and Universities who are relentless in their pursuit of a place on the national team.

Inoue is well aware of the pressure that his team are under after being reinvigorated at the Olympics last year but also as they are moving towards a home Olympics.

Tokyo 2020 hopes were already carving out names for themselves on the IJF World Judo tour in the run-up to Rio but Inoue held them back until the time was right. In Budapest, the stage will be primed for Japan’s Tokyo 2020 generation as the AJJF hand 10 of their leading judoka their senior Worlds debuts and some of them will emerge victorious with a gold medal, a red backpatch and the adulation of the many travelling Japanese fans.

Japan’s three Rio 2016 Olympic champions (Ono Shohei, Baker Mashu and Tachimoto Haruka) are all absent due to academic studies, injury and the latter is yet to make a decision about whether to carry on competing.

Japan’s senior Worlds debutants for 2017:

Men

-60kg: Nagayama Ryuju (20) – World number nine

-66kg: Abe Hifumi  (19) – World number five

-73kg: Hashimoto Soichi (25) – World number three

-100kg: Wolf Aaron (21) – World number 31

+100kg: Ojitani Takeshi (25) – World number 13

Women

-48kg: Tonaki Funa (22) – World number 13

-52kg: Shishime Ai (23) – World number five

-52kg: Tsunoda Natsumi (25) – World number 16

-57kg: Yoshida Tsukasa (21) – World number three

+78kg: Asahina Sarah (20) – World number three

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