Maruyama is back.
After 9 months of Maruyama drought, the Judo world will finally expect to see him at the Paris Grand Slam in February.
For those who didn’t read my piece on his legendary rivalry with Hifumi Abe (which you can read here) or are generally unfamiliar with him, Joshiro Maruyama is one of -66kg’s best judoka. He made his name by running through the competition with a truly destructive uchi-mata and the aforementioned battles with Abe (of which there are 11 so far).
The two-time world champion will be looking to be adding to a hearty gold medal collection, as he enters the tournament alongside national teammates such as Aaron Wolf, Takeshi Takeoka and Dota Arai. With such a strong lineup, we could see the not so uncommon Japanese sweep in France. However, this raises the question: Could Maruyama receive a loss in the Grand Slam?
He could face familiar opponents in Denis Vieru, Baskhuu Yondonperenlei, Baul An and William Lima, although none of these athletes have managed to win against Maruyama. However, father time waits for no-one, and the mentality of Maruyama must certainly be questioned heading into this tournament given consecutive silver medal placements to Abe. Additionally, David Garcia-Torne and Walide Khyar will be competing, which (as far as I’m concerned) are possible new challenges for him.
Maruyama has always been seen as an unstoppable force on the mat, and such a description matches what we see quite well. I can’t help but feel uneasy given the unique circumstances that he finds himself in, being such an incredible judoka but falling just short of a third world championship which he clearly deserves (something I could say about a lot of judoka).
Putting the discussion of doubts aside, we’re all in for a treat as one of Japan’s strongest players will be back to display top-level Judo.
