admin It is quite difficult to remain unbeaten for a few fights in a game like Judo where the schedule is already very hectic and you have to play every few days. French Giant, ‘Teddy Riner’ remained unbeaten since– 13th September 2010.
He has 2 Olympic Golds and holds the current title of world champion. He has won the world championship 10 times. He is an undisputed legend of the game.
Playing in his home stadium, as he hails from France, he had the crowd support. But, after the game, the crowd was left disappointed as they had to watch Riner lose against the Japanese black belt Kokoro Kagura.
Riner had a chain of 154 successive victories in this almost decade long invincible run.
The 30-year old champion is going to play the 2020 summer Olympics in Tokyo to defend his Olympic Gold and can become the only second Judo player to win 3 Olympic Golds. Tadahiro Nomura being the first person to do so.
The Judo legend fights in the 100-kilogram heavyweight category. He tried several sports but settled for Judo as he used to get frustrated playing team sports and loosing.
In an interview given to CNN in 2017, Riner said, “I tried a lot of sports, judo, football, basketball, tennis and swimming. But I love judo because of the spirit of the sport, I love to fight. In this sport, you search for the ippon (winning throw) and I like this because it’s difficult, it’s not an easy sport. You search for a beautiful technique, for a beautiful ippon.” “If this happens at the Games, I’ll be annoyed,” Riner stated, via Agence France-Presse. “Better this happens now than then. But I’ll tell you another thing too. It’s a relief in a way. Counting wins as I closed in on (Yasuhiro) Yamashita’s record (203 wins) was really heavy.”
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