Judo prepares early for 2024 Olympic Games

THE Fiji Judo Association has started preparation for the 2024 Olympics and has identified areas that it will have to improve on to be competitive at the highest level.

Association secretary Josateki Naulu said the Tokyo Olympics was very tough from a performance perspective for its athlete Tevita Takayawa.

"We were ranked outside the Top 18 going into the Olympics and of the four medallists, three usually came from the top 8 seeded athletes and one medallist from the top 18," Naulu said.

"Tevita's first contest on the Olympics stage was against Kukolj from Serbia, who had won silver medal at the World Championship two months earlier in Budapest. His performance at Tokyo 2020 was not a good measure of how he has improved in the past few years as judo is a tough sport. A lapse of concentration and your four years Olympic cycle is over."

Naulu said to perform at the Olympics required dedication and sacrifice.

"Funding for tournaments, training camps and coaches are essential. Currently, Tevita is the only Fiji judoka capable of improving and competing in Paris which is three years away."

Naulu said FJA had other athletes, but it would require more time outside of Fiji to get them to Olympics standards.

He said to reach the high levels, their athletes would have to improve on the World Judo Tour.

"To do that our athletes need to be consistently attending training camps in Europe and Japan."

Naulu said they were also working towards improving the mental preparations of their athletes before competitions.

FJA is grateful for the support from the IOC's Olympic Solidarity "Olympic Scholarships for Athletes Tokyo 2020"program that Takayawa was a recipient of over the past three years and to FASANOC, particularly in regards to mental preparation services.

"Planning for Paris 2024 is an area we, the national federations, want to improve on so the challenge is finding qualified sports psychologists who have experience dealing with Olympic

athletes to engage with."

Naulu said like any athlete who competed at a high level, judo's ultimate aim was to win a medal at the Olympic Games.

"We are a long way from achieving that goal, but we have started our journey to make it to the Olympic Games podium.

"To achieve this goal will require good governance from the national federation and sacrifice from athletes."

Judo has been a part of Team Fiji at the Olympic Games since 1984 and has included judokas such as Josateki Basalusalu, Simione

Kuruvoli, Viliame Takayawa, Nacanieli Qerewaqa, Elina Nasaudrodro, Sisilia Nasiga, Josateki Naulu, and most recently Tevita Takayawa.

FJA is pleased to have their sport on the Commonwealth Games B2022 program after not being on the program for the 2018 games and plans to have both male and female athletes represented in Birmingham.

These games, like the Pacific Games, being important stepping stones to the Olympic Games.