Japan sending powerhouse team when judo comes home in Tokyo

FILE - Aaron Wolf of Japan walks off the mat after winning against Varlam Liparteliani of Georgia in the men's 100kg category at the World Judo Championships in Budapest, Hungary, in this Saturday, Sept. 2, 2017, file photo. Judo is coming home at the Tokyo Olympics “It’s such a lucky opportunity to attend the Olympics in Japan where judo was born," Japanese Olympian Aaron Wolf recently told Japan's Sportiva magazine. “I want to win on this stage. My goal is a gold medal.” (Tibor Illyes/MTI via AP, File)

FILE - In this Sunday, Feb. 7, 2016, file photo, Or Sasson, of Israel, left, competes against Hisayoshi Harasawa, of Japan, during the men's +100 kg final at the Grand Slam Paris 2016 Judo tournament, in Paris. Judo is coming home at the Tokyo Olympics. Hisayoshi Harasawa, who lost to Teddy Riner in the Olympic final in Rio de Janeiro five years ago, was picked for another shot at the games. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File)

FILE - In this Thursday, Jan. 21, 2021, file photo, a man and a woman walk past the Nippon Budokan arena in Tokyo. Judo is coming home at the Tokyo Olympics, and the Japanese team is under a world of pressure. As if this eight-day tournament wasn’t already significant enough, the players will compete at the Nippon Budokan, the hallowed arena built for the first Olympic judo events. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae, File)

FILE - In this Saturday, Aug. 6, 2016, file photo, Japan's Naohisa Takato, left, competes against Georgia's Amiran Papinashvili during the men's 60-kg judo competition at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. “I had enough of the humiliating experience of ending up with a bronze medal in Rio," Takato said. "In the Tokyo Olympics, I’ll definitely seize the gold. With whatever kind of judo, however unrefined that could be, I’ll get a gold medal and play ‘Kimigayo’ (Japan’s national anthem) in the awarding ceremony.” (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, File)

Manuel Lombardo of Italy and Joshiro Maruyama of Japan embrace after their fight in the final of men's 66kg category at the World Judo Championships in Budapest, Hungary, in this Monday, June 7, 2021, file photo. Judo is coming home at the Tokyo Olympics, and the Japanese team is under a world of pressure. Fortunately for the host nation, this powerhouse group of athletes is eager to rise to the momentousness of this moment in their sport, which was born in Japan and introduced to the Olympics at the previous Tokyo Games 57 years ago. (Zsolt Szigetvary/MTI via AP, File)