Consequently, yesterday night, 18 September, IJF inducted a number judo legends to the Judo Hall of Fame, i.e. Amar Benikhlef (ALG), Jane Bridge (GBR), Cho Min-Sun (KOR), Nicolas Gill (CAN), Mark Huizinga (NED), Nazim Husseynov (AZE), Rusty Kanokogi (USA), Antal Kovacs (HUN), Kye Sun-Hui (PRK), Anis Lounifi (TUN), Elnur Mammadli (AZE), Felice Mariani (ITA), Hesham Mesbah (EGY), Jimmy Pedro (USA), Hitoshi Sato (JPN), Ayumi Tanimoto (JPN), Ronaldo Veitia (CUB), Xian Dongmei (CHN) and Ilham Zakiyev (AZE).
While the guests attending the Gala Night in Buta Palace were entertained by local singers, Italian star Al Bano and his band, great food and short videos showcasing the performances of the inductees, IJF Media went backstage to collect some soundbites from the luminaries to inquire about their sentiment for such an honor bestowed on them.
“I’m very proud and honored to be part of this very select group of judo people”, said Jane Bridge (GBR), the first ever female World champion from 1980 in New York. “I’m still very much involved in judo, but tonight it was really fantastic to see a small video of my fight and the environment. It was in Madison Square Garden. You don’t easily forget that. A really nice trip down memory lane. Judo kind of captures you. For me judo is such a valuable tool to have whether you’re a child or an adult.”
“This is the greatest honor to receive”, says Egyptian Hesham Mesbah. “We need this kind of exposure for judo in Egypt and Africa.”
“I see it as a recognition,” explained double Olympic champion Xian Dongmei (CHN), currently president of the Chinese Judo Federation. “I would like to bring this honor back to China to influence more people to know about judo, to practice judo, to spread judo. The most important value judo teaches us is to be modest and not only challenge yourself but also believe in one’s capabilities.”
“I couldn’t be happier,” states Japanese Ayumi Tanimoto, the double Olympic Champion (2004 & 2008) in the -63kg category. “I hope my kids pick up judo as well. My oldest son was watching the video on the screen and said ‘Mom, you look so cool, I really wanna do judo too’, and that made me genuinely happy.”
“As an athlete you can only hope to become part of this select group of people within the sport you love,” admits Nicolas Gill, former Canadian judo great and currently High-Performance Director of Judo Canada. “It was nice to notice not only my performances on the tatami but also at the sidelines as a coach in that video. Indeed, my career in judo is not over yet. Judo is my life and I’m living it to the fullest. So, I’m really glad these two parts of my career are appreciated by the international judo family.”
“After finishing my career as an athlete, I continued to stay involved in judo as an International Referee. I never expected that one day I would be honored in this way. I’m really touched by this,” Korean Cho Min-Sun commented. “Being still involved as a referee I can continue to spread the values of our sport throughout the world. This makes me happy.”
For Mrs. Saito, the widow of the late Hitoshi Saito, double Olympic heavyweight champion (1984 & 1988) who passed away in 2015, it was a very emotional night accepting the induction on stage in the name of her late husband. She carried a framed photo of him on stage to mark his presence. “I feel very grateful for this honor, but simultaneously also very sad because he’s not here and I wish it was him doing the interview and not me,” Mrs. Saito expressed her thanks.
The only non-athlete among this year’s inductees is legendary judo coach Ronaldo Veitia. In his 30 years as a coach Ronaldo lead his athletes to capture no less than 308 international medals for Cuba! IJF Media asked him what his secret was. “I always treated judo as my girlfriend, not my wife. This way she stayed a virgin, so I was always eager to please her to make her my wife,” Ronaldo jokes. The Cuban coach wrote seven books about sports and coaching judo and the commitment to win. “What I like the most about judo is the discipline it requires. But also, the battle. Judo gave me a number of concepts for life I truly value, like equality and friendship. That’s important.” Towards the youngster his message is clear. “The most important aspect of judo is discipline. It conquers everything. Even economic problems. We didn’t always have an easy life in Cuba. But I managed to deliver champions for my country. Being a coach, I consider it an enormous honor belonging to this select group of outstanding athletes.”