Japan’s renowned ne-waza specialist Komuro Koji, who was taught by kosen judo master Kanae Hirata, won his third IJF Veteran World Championships title in the Mexican city.
Komuro, who coaches at a number of locations in Tokyo, regularly trains at the Kodokan Judo Institute where he is often studied by other judoka and more than happy to demonstrate his favoured techniques.
The -73kg judoka won all five of his contests by ippon to storm to gold.
“It was hard work this time,” said Komuro who has released dvd’s and books showcasing his best techniques.
The well-known Japanese judoka won his first and second contests with osaekomi-waza. Victory number three came courtesy of a ko-uchi-makikomi while the semi-finial finished with a seoi-nage and the final was decided by a ura-nage.
“I am doing a new job at a high school attached to Waseda University,” said Komuro.
“I am not practicing much as I am the mainly teaching now so this time it was very hard for me. It’s not clear what’s next but maybe I will compete at the Kodokan high dan grade event in April 2019.”
The competition continues on Friday with the M4 and M5 age groups. Watch the action live on the IJF YouTube channel. Click here for the streaming links for all four mats.