The match time is 24 minutes including the extension.

It was a match that deserved to be called a deadly battle.

It was Hifumi Abe who won the deciding match for the Tokyo Olympics representative of the 66 kg class of judo men.


Called the "Star of the Tokyo Olympics," the judo elite, who had been in the limelight from early on, gained spiritual strength through a fierce battle for representatives with their rivals and grabbed the ticket to the Olympics.

Go ahead and aim for one

This is the first match in the history of Japanese judo to decide the Olympic representative in one match.

Abe, who won the game and seized the position of the Olympic representative, looked back on the competition with his rival, Joshiro Maruyama, who had been competing with him, saying, "I wouldn't be so strong without Maruyama." ..

It was Abe who led the battle for the national team first.

He won the world championship, which was his first appearance in 2017, and achieved the second consecutive victory the following year.



"My judo is to go

forward

and aim for one" I



was fascinated by the dynamic judo as the word

says,

"Tokyo Olympics" Called "the star of the world," the fight for the men's 66-kilometer class was at the forefront of Abe at this time.

“I have no choice but to spend my life”

However, in November 2018, Abe lost to Maruyama at the end of the extension at the international tournament held in Osaka.

Furthermore, in February 2019, he lost to an Italian player in the first match at an international tournament in Paris.

At this tournament, coach Kosei Inoue, the Japanese national team for judo, said to Abe, "I haven't even appeared in the Olympics even though I'm a star. It's whether I'm seriously facing the situation." I did.



After that, Abe suffered three consecutive losses to Maruyama by the world championship, and finally the battle for the national team was reversed.

Approximately two weeks after the world championships, Abe responded to the interview ...



"I have no choice but to keep winning. I have to spend my life."

Looking back, it may have been this time that Abe, who had been called the elite, made a real decision to aim for the Olympics.



If Maruyama wins, the international tournament in November 2019 will be much closer to the Olympic team.

Abe, who has no time left, defeated Maruyama for the first time in two years.


In addition, Maruyama was absent and won the international tournament in February, and lined up again in the fight for the national team.

Wear calm and control the decisive battle

The deciding match for the representative.


At the beginning of the game, Abe keeps pace with the style of "going forward and aiming for one is my judo."

It wasn't until the extension that I could see Abe's spiritual growth in the game.

Up until now, in the three games that Maruyama lost to Maruyama after an extension, Abe had a desire to move forward, and he had a chance to get sloppy with his kumite and opponent's skills.



This day was different.


"I was able to calmly judge and practice judo. I was able to judge the time I couldn't go without going forward and the time I could endure firmly," said Abe.

Maruyama's "Tomoe nage" and "Uchi mata" counterattacks were firmly received and endured, and at the end, he decided to move forward.



It can be said that the reason for the victory was the mental growth that allowed him to calmly control himself until the end even if it was a deadly battle with an extension of 20 minutes and a match time of 24 minutes.

It was a ticket to the Tokyo Olympics, which the elite, who is fascinated by the dynamic judo, learned to be calm and grabbed.

"



Now, I

can clearly say that we will win the Olympic gold medal."

Abe shed tears immediately after the match, and at the end he said so and smiled.

The stage is set for my dream with my sister's poetry player.