Leading the team arriving in Paris is 2004 Olympic champion Keiji Suzuki. He has been at the helm for several years now and he is happy to explain the position of the Japanese team.
“Before the Paris Olympic Games, it became clear that communication was important for athletes, the communication between athletes and coaches. We continue to work on this with all generations of our team.
Because this competition is being run under the new rules set, it is important for all the new judoka to experience competing this way so this is a test event for the young ones. In Baku we will bring the number ones for their chance to use the new rules. The new rules didn’t bring big changes but with yuko coming back and some small changes in the way penalties are managed, it is necessary to practice and be confident, be secure with the right feeling."
"I like the yuko being back and I feel there have been a lot of dynamic fights with lots of scores. Not so many have gone into golden score and most contests have ended with positive scores. I am happy this team is here to learn, to understand this new rhythm.”
How do you help them to manage the pressure?
“Actually, most of this team won the grand slam in Tokyo so they have had some pressure before, some also won the Kodokan Cup. Maybe they are the number 3 or 4 in the team but they’re already learning to handle this level of event by themselves, naturally. With this idea of continued improvement in communication, we can support them but they are doing a great job so far.”
Suzuki-San is happy with how things are going; this is a good sign for his team. It is also great that his perspective is positive at this first tournament under the new rules. 2025 has begun well and points to a great season of judo.