Michihiro Arai cries over judgment, overturns ``waza-ari'' and misses gold - World Judo

Arai cried due to the poor decision and was unable to reach the top of his long-cherished desire. The final will be against arch-rival Slamanidze, who lost by one match in the Grand Slam Tokyo final last December. That moment came just after the game went into overtime.

He uses a perfectly timed Ouchi-kari to knock his opponent down. "I threw it." The moment Arai thought this, he let go of his hands and fell face down next to his opponent, who was performing a counterattack. As a result of video verification, Arai's ``waza-ari'' judgment was overturned by his opponent's ``effective'' judgment.

"My opponent had good control. If I hadn't let go of my hands, the result would have been different. I was weak," Arai said. Japan's men's coach, Suzuki, was considerate of his feelings, saying, ``I have no choice but to accept that decision, but I don't think that decision is for me.''

Although the result ended in a bad aftertaste, he won medals in three consecutive tournaments. In the semi-finals, he defeated the 2023 tournament champion by one stroke, proving that his ability is at the top level in the world. I'm glad this isn't the Los Angeles Olympics. I have no choice but to think so.

Arai said, ``I think we are gradually closing the gap (with the rest of the world).We have to make a change next time.'' He vowed to take advantage of this experience and return to the same stage next year. (Baku Jiji)