The All Japan Judo Championships were held to determine the best Japan in weight, and 30-year-old Takeshi Ojitani won the championship for the fourth time.
The All Japan Championships, which determine the best Japan in men's judo without discrimination in weight, were held at the Japan Budokan in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo on 29 September, and the winners of the qualifying rounds from each region competed in a tournament format.
Among them, 3-year-old Ojiya, a three-time champion of the All Japan Championship, steadily improved from the second round of the first match with suppression and throwing techniques, and in the final he faced 30-year-old HAGA Ryunosuke, a high school and college senior who also belongs to the same team.
The match continued to be a close match, and we received two coaches from each other and the match went into overtime.
Ojitani applied pressure to the front and attacked first, and after using various techniques such as back throws and inner legs, Haga was given a third instruction about five minutes into extra time, resulting in a foul loss, and Ojitani became the Japan champion for the fourth time in six years.
Ojitani said, "To be honest, I thought I was a finished player, but I am really grateful that I was able to stand here one more time with the support of many people. I admire Haga and respect him for his fighting, so I can only thank him."
After the loss, Haga said, "The most frustrating feeling is the most important thing, but I'm happy to be able to compete on such a stage with my juniors, and I know his struggles, so I want to praise him."
In addition, Kuki Harasawa, the silver medalist in the men's over 2 kg class at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics and also participated in the Tokyo Games, lost in the fourth round to Takeki Tashima, who usually competes in the men's 32 kg class.
Last year's winner Tatsu Saito and runner-up Shin Kageura in the men's over 2-kilogram class did not participate due to the World Championships coming up in May.