(ATR) Japanese judo legend Toshihiko Koga, 53, was found dead at his home on Wednesday following a long battle with cancer.
The Barcelona 1992 Olympic champion and three-time world champion had been treated for cancer last year according to NHK. Koga did not make his illness public and closed his dojo ‘Koga Juku’ last spring.
Koga underwent surgery for ureteral cancer last May, a source told Around the Rings.
A moment of silence was observed in tribute to Koga on Thursday before the start of the draw for the Tbilisi Grand Slam in Georgia.
Saga native Koga was known the world around for his deadly ippon-seoi-nage (one arm shoulder throw), a technique so revered that DVDs and books have been dedicated to it and the best judoka in the world still study footage of his version of the throw. In 1990, while weighing only 71kg, he progressed all the way to the final of the All Japan Openweight Championships where he lost out to hulking heavyweight Naoya Ogawa who needed over 10 minutes to defeat Koga with an ashi-guruma (leg wheel) throw.
After retiring in 2000, following a bronze medal at a tournament in Moscow, Koga moved into coaching and his student Ayumi Tanimoto went on to win the 2004 Olympics in the -63kg category and herself enjoyed a Hall of Fame career.
More recently he worked extensively with -78kg talent Mami Umeki who won the World Championships in 2015 at the age of 20 while her mentor was in the crowd. The former World Masters winner took silver at the Worlds in 2017 but has recently fallen down the domestic pecking order with 2018 world champion Shori Hamada being selected for the Olympics.
Koga’s sons Genki, 22, and Hayato, 23, have followed in his footsteps on the tatami.
Genki Koga is a current member of the Japanese team. He won the Cadet World Championships in 2015 and the Junior World Championships in 2018 while Hayato Koga took bronze at the Portuguese Open in 2019.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato commented on the unexpected news at a daily news briefing on Wednesday: "I remember clearly how he was the captain of the Japanese team for the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, and ended up winning the gold medal despite hurting his knee.
"He was so young, and the news of his death is such a shame. I express my deepest condolences."
The All Japan Judo Federation are yet to release a statement.
Homepage photo: YouTube
Written by Mark Pickering
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