Japanese judo star Satoshi Ishii brushed off his Olympic gold medal as merely a ticket to greater glory as he announced a switch to the cash-rich world of mixed martial arts.
Only three months after saving Japan’s pride at the Beijing Olympics, the 21-year-old disappointed many in the homeland of tradition-bound judo by joining what is still widely seen as a make-believe sport designed solely for television.
“I had made up my mind that I would go to the world of mixed martial arts whether I won or lost at the Olympics,” Ishii said late on Monday, in a move that will see him combining techniques from judo, karate, kick-boxing and wrestling.
“I want to throw away the judo gold medal and everything, and fight it out in another world by starting from scratch with a white belt,” said the black belt holder, who at 181cm and 110kg is small for a heavyweight.
Ishii, fighting at the world’s top level for the first time in Beijing, was one of the only two Japanese who made the podium in men’s Judo, as Japan registered a record-low medal haul in the sport.
Japan’s judo establishment bans professionals in any other combat sport from competing under its auspices, making it impossible for Ishii to go for another gold at the 2012 London Olympics.
“He has kept on training while other people rested. He has interesting talent and will be missed because he could stimulate other participants,” said Kazuo Yoshimura, director of technical development at the All-Japan Judo Federation.
Critics fear that Ishii, who has irritated judo purists with his no-holds-barred style, could inspire others to follow him into a sport full of colorful figures, in which earnings can easily top ¥100 million (US$1 million) per match.
“In my value system, mixed martial arts is the strongest,” Ishii said.
“I am a total newcomer and I have no confidence in winning a match now. But I strongly feel I will work hard and succeed in this world, no matter what,” he said, citing legendary Brazilian Rickson Gracie as his model in the trade.
Before Ishii, other Olympic and world judo champions have also stepped into professional martial arts — but only when they were past their prime at around 30. They include four-time world heavyweight and open champion Naoya Ogawa, Barcelona Olympic 78kg gold medalist Hidehiko Yoshida and Sydney Olympics 81kg winner Makoto Takimoto.
Ishii, who has gifted his Olympic gold to the gym of his hero Ogawa, did not reveal which one of the multitude of martial arts organizations he would join. His debut in the sport will wait until his graduation from Tokyo’s Kokushikan University in March.
US national team star Folarin Balogun was among the scorers as AS Monaco on Friday won 3-1 at Paris Saint-Germain, dealing a blow to the side from the French capital before they face Chelsea in a crunch UEFA Champions League round-of-16 tie. Maghnes Akliouche gave Monaco a first-half lead at the Parc des Princes, and Aleksandr Golovin doubled their advantage early in the second half of the French Ligue 1 clash. Bradley Barcola pulled one back for the reigning European champions, but Balogun struck shortly after with a fifth goal in his last five games as Monaco claimed a precious
Teenage star Lamine Yamal’s superbly-taken goal on Saturday earned Barcelona a 1-0 win at Athletic Bilbao in Spanish La Liga. The champions restored their four-point lead over second-placed Real Madrid, who had on Friday temporarily closed the gap by beating Celta Vigo. Atletico Madrid tightened their grip on third with an entertaining 3-2 win over Real Sociedad. Yamal, 18, curled into the top corner after 68 minutes to split the sides at Athletic’s San Mames stadium. “We’re already seeing what Lamine can do — he puts it right in the top corner, and there’s nothing the keeper can do,” Barca
Liverpool on Tuesday suffered an embarrassing 2-1 defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers as Andre’s stoppage-time strike sealed a dramatic victory for the English Premier League’s bottom club. Arne Slot’s side fell behind to Rodrigo Gomes’ strike in the closing stages at Molineux. Mohamed Salah hauled Liverpool level with his first goal in 11 top-flight games dating back to November last year. However, Andre’s first goal for Wolves inflicted the latest humbling loss in a chastening season for Liverpool. It was the first time the Premier League’s bottom club had beaten the reigning champions since Crystal Palace defeated Chelsea in 2017. Liverpool
CHANCE TO QUALIFY: Both teams now have three points from two games, and Taiwan sit ahead of Vietnam and behind Japan, who last night beat India 11-0 Taiwan yesterday defeated Vietnam 1-0 to move into second place in Group C at the AFC Women’s Asian Cup with one match remaining. Su Yu-hsuan scored the decisive goal in the 26th minute after Taiwan midfielder Saki Matsunaga’s shot hit the crossbar, leaving Su to nod the rebound into an empty net for the team which won the last of their three Asian Cup titles in 1981. It was a deserved victory for Taiwan, 2-0 losers to Japan on Wednesday, who created several chances to extend their lead. Vietnam, the 2022 quarter-finalist, beat India in their opener, but struggled to
RSS