The Olympic Games are over and coach Kosei Inoue and Shohei Ono look back at the Olympic Games. Japan have lost the final of the Team Championships ahainst France but the team have won nine Olympic gold medals in the Nippon Budokan.
INOUE Kosei (JPN)
On Mixed team results:
“We are very disappointed that we could not live up to all the expectations of everyone with a result of second place, and that we could not let our players win.
“The players have fought very hard through this tournament in a difficult environment. I am proud to have competed with such a great team.
“I think it would have been best to finish with a victory, but I really want everyone to give credit to the players for their hard work.
On his nine years as a coach:
“I think I have been the happiest person.
“I would like to thank all of you, not only the athletes who represented us in the Olympic Games, but also the athletes who competed with us in other international competitions, the staff, the coaches and the many people who supported us, without whom this team would not have been able to achieve great things.”
Ono Shohei (JPN)
“At the end of the whole competition, I have mixed feelings about the overall good result in the individual competition and the disappointment of finishing with a silver medal in the mixed team.”
“I myself first joined the national team in 2013, and my judo has been with coach Inoue. To have won two consecutive gold medals under Inoue is the proudest moment in my judo career.
“I wanted to give a victory to coach Inoue at the end, but I couldn’t do it. As a captain, I feel responsible for this.
“We are sorry that we couldn’t give the gold medal to the coach, but he accepts that, and we really respect him for accepting it and telling us to smile and be proud of ourselves.”
