Japanese judoka refuses to shake hands with opponent after controversial bout. GETTY IMAGES

The quarter-final bout between Ryuju Nagayama (Japan) and Francisco Garrigos (Spain) on the first day of the Paris 2024 Judo Competition ended with tension between two judokas.

Nagayama has been one of the most consistent performers in the men's -60 kg category recently, despite losing to Individual Neutral Athlete Ayub Bliev in the first round of the 2024 World Championships. 

He looked very confident in the early rounds of the competition, but Garrigos, the 2024 World Champion, challenged him in the quarter-finals and managed to put Nagayama in a dangerous position. While the chokehold, the referee called "matte" (wait), at which point the athlete must release the hold, but Garrigos continued the choke, pressing on Nagayama's carotid artery. The referee then awarded ippon to the Spaniard as Nagayama lay on his back on the mat.



Nagayama protested with hand gestures and asked for a replay, but the judges didn't change their decision. 

Francisco Garrigos applying the chokehold on Ryju Nagayama. GETTY IMAGES
Francisco Garrigos applying the chokehold on Ryju Nagayama. GETTY IMAGES

Garrigos offered the Japanese a handshake, but he refused. He remained on the mat for several minutes, continuing his protest, but eventually bowed to the crowd and left the arena.

Garrigos advanced to the semi-finals, where he lost to eventual champion Yeldos Smetov of Kazakhstan. Nagayama won his repechage bout and the two went on to fight for third place. Both Nagayama and Garrigos won their bronze medal bouts and stood side by side at the awards ceremony. While Garrigos seemed happy with his bronze medal, Nagayama was upset.

"Naohisa Takato, who is here, won the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics and I feel very sorry that I didn't win as well," the 28-year-old said after the competition.

Nagayama (left) and Francisco Garrigos during the award ceremony. GETTY IMAGES
Nagayama (left) and Francisco Garrigos during the award ceremony. GETTY IMAGES

Nagayama, who defeated Takato in the final of the Tokyo 2023 Grand Slam to secure his place in the Japanese national team, believes his defeat was unfair. Many judo fans and judokas also believe that Garrigos should have stopped the choke after the "mat", while Quino Rodriguez, coach of the Spanish national team, is certain that the referee should have awarded the ippon earlier.

"From my point of view, the referee made a mistake when he called matte. Nagayama lost consciousness. Falling asleep on the tatami means victory for the opponent. That has always been the case," he insists.

Rodriguez also reveals that Garrigos received many threatening messages from the Japanese fans. "They sent him some unpleasant messages. I don't know what they were protesting about. They say 'don't come back to Japan', 'you're not welcome'," the coach told laSexta.