After a first waza-ari, Nagase continued to lead the debates, leaving Grigalashvili a tone below. It did not take much more for the Japanese judoka to score a second time and add a second Olympic title to his impressive list of achievements. The ease demonstrated by Nagase is a reflection of his talent. He was obviously among the favourites in the morning, but since his last Olympic title, three years have passed and the level of the category has increased. So did Nagase.
Nagase declared, "For three years I could not win and I have been dealing with frustration for a long time. Even so, I never gave up. I have been aiming only for the pinnacle in Paris 2024.
I re-examined my judo, prepared well from the preparation stage, and was able to step onto the tatami with no regrets. That gave me confidence.
I spent a lot of time feeling anxious and worried but I knew I was the only one who could challenge for consecutive Olympic golds."
Bronze medal contests
The first bronze medal was disputed between Matthias Casse (BEL) and Joonhwan Lee (KOR). On one side, the former world champion and already a bronze medallist in Tokyo three years ago, and on the other, the Korean Lee, world medallist and looking for a first Olympic medal. They have very different profiles, but with their judo all in preparation and sensations. It was finally Joonhwan Lee who, with a little sweep movement (de-ashi-barai), turned the tide and won the medal.
Already the author of some great groundwork during the repechage, Somon Makhmadbekov (TJK) concludes once again on the floor, turning Antonio Esposito (ITA) and pinning him down for ippon. This is the first Olympic medal for Somon Makhmadbekov.
Semi-Finals
The first semi-final was the kind of contest we want to see and we love to see. Both athletes were totally committed to reaching the final and gave all they had. After four minutes the scoreboard was still totally empty, no score, no penalties. That shows the level of the judo produced. If a few penalties fell in the golden score period, this is not what we have to underline.
Once again, totally exhausted, having difficulties to breathe, looking for that extra bit of energy, Grigalashvili and Lee multiplied the chances to score. At any time it could have gone either way, but eventually it was the triple world champion, Tato Grigalashvili who scored a liberating waza-ari with a counterattack.
The second semi-final was more of a surprise, at least for Esposito, since the second judoka was the current Olympic champion, Nagase. The Japanese, totally focused, scored a first waza-ari with a beautiful sasae-tsuri-komi-ashi and concluded with a nice moment of ne-waza and an immobilisation for ippon to reach his second Olympic final in a row.
Repechage
The first repechage contest was already a top fight between two top athletes, Matthias Casse (BEL) and François Gauthier-Drapeau (CAN). If both came for the gold medal obviously, maybe, based on his ranking Casse had the top spot on the podium more in sight. With this repechage contest, he had to find a new motivation, especially since he was already on the podium three years ago in Tokyo, while François Gauthier-Drapeau could reach that level for the first time.
At the end of normal time, both judoka were perfectly equal, with no score to their name and no penalty. After a spectacular seoi-otoshi attempt at the start of golden score, the Canadian was penalised with a first shido for grabbing under the belt and then escaped miraculously from a great ne-waza sequence from Casse. The second sequence on the floor was a bit too much for Gauthier-Drapeau though who this time couldn't escape and was pinned down for ippon.
In the second repechage contest, Somon Makhmadbekov (TJK), who showed some really good judo throughout the day was the first to action against Sharofiddin Boltaboev (UZB). After a first waza-ari he pinned down his opponent in less than one minute.