Riki Nakaya, who won the silver medal in the 73-kilometer class of judo men at the London Olympics, held an online retirement interview on the 17th, stating that he would like to develop players who can play an active role in the world, and expressed his intention to guide the younger generation.
Nakaya is 31 years old from Matsuyama city.
Taking advantage of his strong grounding skills, he won a silver medal in the men's 73 kg class at the 2012 London Olympics and a gold medal in 2011 and 2014 at the world championships.
At an online press conference held on the 17th, Nakaya commented on the reason for his retirement, saying, "This was the year I was playing a game, but there was no match, and I couldn't predict when there would be a match next year just by practicing. I decided to retire because I thought it was important to tell the players what I had done. "
The most memorable match was the final of the London Olympics, "I participated in many competitions, but the stage of the final of the Olympics was very different, my head became blank and I could not do my own judo. I was very impressed with it. I think it was a match in which the sleeper was so motivated that he could break his arm when his opponent took his arm. "
In the future, he will be appointed as the coach of the judo club to which he belongs, and Nakaya said, "I want my students to develop athletes who can play an active role in the world and to give their students the gold medal of the Olympic Games that they could not achieve."