International Judo Federation Announces Cancellation of "Grand Slam Tokyo" in December September 23, 10:41
The IJF = International Judo Federation officially announced on the 22nd that the international judo tournament scheduled for December in Tokyo will be canceled because the tournament in the host country of the Olympic Games requires careful attention.
On the 22nd, IJF officially announced on its website that it would cancel the international judo tournament "Grand Slam Tokyo" scheduled for December in Tokyo.
The IJF explains that the spread of the new coronavirus is still ongoing and that the holding of international competitions in Japan, the host country of the Olympic Games, requires careful attention.
Last week, IJF Chairman Marius Vizer and All Japan Judo Federation Chairman Yasuhiro Yamashita had a telephone conversation and agreed to abandon the event in December.
According to people familiar with the matter, the IJF has indicated that it would like to hold this tournament after next spring, but it was difficult to secure a venue.
On the other hand, the IJF will wait for the Hungarian government to decide on an international convention scheduled for late next month in Hungary.
"The most important role of the International Judo Federation is to protect judo and athletes," said IJF President Marius Vizer. "We will continue to do our utmost to ensure the safety of all, coordinating with all parties. I will continue. "
Is Maruyama Abe's selection decided by direct confrontation?
The international tournament announced by the IJF was scheduled to double as a representative selection for the 66-kilometer class for men, for which the All Japan Judo Federation has not decided on a candidate for the Tokyo Olympics.
In this class, both Joshiro Maruyama and Hifumi Abe are fiercely competing for the gold medalist of the world championship.
All Japan Judo Federation says that in order to secure the preparation period until the Olympics, it is necessary to decide the representative candidates during this time, and if the international competition in December is not held, two representative selection meetings will be set up separately. Although it shows the policy, the decision to cancel has increased the possibility that the representative will be decided by a direct confrontation between Maruyama and Abe.