Olympic judo fight turns sour as star refuses to leave mat and snubs handshake

Japanese judo star Ryuju Nagayama was left raging after being beaten in the quarter-final of the men's under 60kg competition at the Olympics. The 28-year-old caused a farcical scene at the Champ de Mars Arena, refusing to leave the mat after opponent Francisco Garrigos was awarded an ippon decision after a chokehold. 

The Spaniard appeared to continue the choke despite the referee calling matte (wait), at which point the hold is supposed to be released.

Nagayama initially gave a despondent shrug of the shoulders before snubbing the Spaniard’s offer of a handshake.

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And he wasn’t done there, continuing his protest by making hand gestures and appearing to plead for a replay review. Eventually, he reluctantly bowed to the mat but it was several minutes before he actually walked out of the arena.

Naohisa Takato won gold in the same discipline on home soil three years ago, and after his defeat, Nagayama expressed his dismay at not being able to follow in his compatriot’s footsteps. "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.

Nagayama then regained his composure after going into the repechage, beating Yang Yung-wei of Taiwan before claiming a bronze medal with victory over Turkey's Salih Yildiz. Garrigos himself won a bronze medal play-off after losing to eventual champion Yeldos Smetov of Kazakhstan in the semi-finals.

But fan reaction sided with Nagayama, @IOLuke1 writing on X: “This was the biggest robbery in the history of the IJF and Judo itself. Shame on you Garrigos, you stole something that doesn't belong to you! Nagayama is the real winner, absolutely horrible refereeing.

@AVikram662 added: “Absolute bull***t call in the Judo match with Ryuju Nagayama and Francisco Garrigos. How do you give a point when the play is dead? Fire that referee. Feel for Nagayama and Japan”

@vinsanstea wrote: “Ryuju Nagayama's composure damn it. Four years of preparation stolen in this way, I would have smashed Fran Garrigos and the referee then.”

The decision marks the latest controversy on what has been a difficult opening weekend for organisers in Paris. On Friday, there was disruption to the skateboarding and tennis events due to the inclement weather that plagued the opening ceremony.

And on Sunday (today), the practice swimming session for triathlon competitors was scrapped. Following the heavy downpours, conditions in the River Seine were considered unsafe for athletes.