JUDO: Following the phenomenal efforts from Judoka Nathan Katz which saw the Australian Ippon Peru’s Juan Postigus in his first-round bout, Aussies are back in action at the historic Nippon Budokan on Day 4 of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
Katharina Haecker will march into her second Olympic Games with her opening fight in the Women’s 63kg round of 32.
The 28-year-old Haecker will look to make her mark on the Games at the spiritual home of Judo as she squares up against Israel’s Gili Sharir.
Heacker is also in fine form, prior to the pandemic in January of 2020, Heacker claimed an unprecedented gold at the Judo Grand Prix in Tel Aviv. It was the first time an Australian had achieved the impressive feat.
More recently the German-born Judoka clinched silver at the 2021 Asia-Oceania Senior Championships in April.
Haecker and Sharir have come head-to-head twice in previous tournaments with each coming away with one victory. Tuesday’s fight will serve not only as a ticket to the round of 16, but as a decided in their personal rivalry.
Both Sharir and Haecker were in competition at May’s Kazan Grand Slam and June’s World Judo Championships in Hungry. However, the two Tokyo 2020 competitors didn’t meet in the draw.
For Haecker, her primary focus will be on leaving everything on the mat.
“My goal is to perform at my best, fully hearted without holding anything back,” Haecker said.
“The dream of an Olympic medal is a big one, but I‘m certain that each one of us is ready to take on this dream.
“I want Australians to see some great fights and hopefully there are some kids who fall in love with the sport like I did when I watched my first Olympics”
Judo competition will begin at 12:00pm (AEST) with fights running consecutively throughout the day towards the gold medal bout in the evening. Judokas must win every bout to remain in the tournament.
Matthew Barnard
