In Paris, Japan’s Ryuju Nagayama looked to emerge from the shadow of his rival Naohisa Takato. Having overcome his rival in the lead-up to the Olympics, he seemed destined for glory and to emulate Takato’s feat from Tokyo. However, during the men’s under-60kg competition, his quest for gold ended in controversial fashion leaving him frustrated. Nagayama’s actions after the contest did little to earn sympathy from the fans.

He faced a stiff test against Spain’s Francisco Garrigos, the 2023 World Judo Champion, in the Paris Olympics quarterfinals. The Spaniard held him in a chokehold he struggled to break free. The judges ruled that he lost consciousness from a choke by Garrigos. Garrigos was awarded an ippon decision, although it did appear he held on the choke after the referee called matte, a point when a judoka is supposed to release a hold. This didn’t sit well with Nagayama, who disagreed with the verdict.

As Garrigos walked up to Nagayama holding out his hand, the Japanese silently refused, prompting the Spaniard to bow instead and walk back to his position. The Judo were appalled by the Japanese star’s sportsmanship and called him out.

Ryuju Nagayama couldn’t hide his disbelief at the men’s 60-kg competition

Ryuju Nagayama stepped onto the mat at the Champ de Mars Arena with one goal: clinching an Olympic gold.  His rival Naohisa Takato won gold in Tokyo by ippon over YANG Yung Wei of Chinese Taipei, putting him ahead of Nagayama in the pecking order. But Nagyama was determined to prove himself. He took the first step by defeating Takato at the 2023 Tokyo Grand Slam, winning an 11th grand slam gold medal, and leveling the head-to-head score 3-3.

However, during a rousing battle against Francisco Garrigos, the Japanese judoka could feel his dream slowly fade away. Amidst a thrilling show of skills, the Spaniard used the Kata-te-jime technique and defeated Nagayuma via ippon. Eurosport Spain shared a glimpse of this moment on X, captioned “🥋 IPPON of @FranGarrigos1! 🇪🇸👏👏 To the semi-finals and fight for the medals this afternoon! #Paris2024” The Spaniard is now one step closer to the finals.

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The manner of the defeat, left Nagayama shattered as he couldn’t replicate his rival’s success. This was evident from his comments following the contest. “Naohisa Takato, who is here, won the gold at the Tokyo Olympics, and I feel a lot of regret that I didn’t win as well.,” he said. The 28-year-old was less than happy with the decision and made no bones about it.

After refusing to shake the Spanish judoka’s hand, the Japanese star kept fixing his uniform and asked for a replay review via hand gestures. But the verdict was not overturned as Nagayama stayed in the arena for a little longer before finally leaving.

His actions led to boos from the crows. When he realized that the final call was still not in his favor, he hesitantly bowed and walked off the mat. Although he

The Judo community left aghast by the Judoka’s disrespectful display

Fans pick up on the slightest things, and Nagayama’s refusal to shake hands with Garrigos had several fuming. One fan stated, “Little honor on the part of the Japanese. Ironically, the Spaniard had a thousand times more respect for his rival in a martial art born in Japan.” The simple act of bowing in Judo acts as a sign of respect. Nagayama failed to shake his opponent’s hand or bow to him, something many expected from the 2x world championship bronze medalist. 

Another fan exclaimed, “The Japanese have some great sporting values…what a shame” The Japanese sport has a rich history, and many believed the display wasn’t doing justice to Judo’s heritage.

A reason for Nagayama’s frustrations could be the fact that he has yet to win a senior world title. At the Abu Dhabi World Championships in May, he was viewed as one of the favorites for the title. But his journey ended in the first round against Ayub Bliev, who was competing in his first senior world championships. Nonetheless, many fans believed, Nagayama’s actions were out of line.

Judo was developed by combining practical fighting techniques while also being thoughtful towards the opponent. However, this sentiment failed to shine through during the competition. One fan pointed out, “The Japanese should be reminded of the values ​​and respect in sport.” 

A fan pointed out, “It’s a shame that the referee in Paris seems to be lax with his time management.” After breaking free from the chokehold, Nagayama spent a considerable amount of time fixing his judogi.

Another fan agreed, “What a character the Japanese is. Bad loser, contempt for the rival and the referee… should be disqualified for unsportsmanlike.” Even though Nagayama has shown promise during the 2018 and 2019 world championships, his chase for gold at the Olympics has tragically come to an end.

However, later he did manage to clinch the bronze medal. He overcame his quarterfinal disappointment to win the repechage against Yang Yung-wei of Taiwan before securing a victory over Turkey’s Salih Yildiz to ensure he didn’t leave Paris empty-handed.

Still, the talking point from his Olympic journey will be his display towards his opponent, even if the decision seemed contentious. Do you think the Japanese star could have handled his frustrations in a different manner?