Chapter 418: The First Olympic Gold Medal

Chapter 418: The First Olympic Gold Medal

"23!"

"24!"

"25!"

"Win! Win!"

"Yu Song wins by osaekomi ippon!"

"Champion! Yu Song has won the women's +78 kg judo gold medal at the 2020 Olympics!"

On CCTV-5+, the commentator for the Olympic judo events was none other than Zhou Yingjie. When Yu Song secured the ippon with a hold-down, his voice trembled with excitement, his tone soaring.

Viewers watching on TV and online, while thrilled to congratulate the athlete for winning a gold medal for the motherland, couldn't help teasing the commentator.

"Hahaha! Teacher Zhou finally got through that breath smoothly!"

"As long as he doesn't commentate on Meng Fan's match, Teacher Zhou can perform normally!"

"But Teacher Zhou is about to commentate on Meng Fan's match now—I can't help feeling sorry for him."

"Please, Meng Fan, take it slow this time so Teacher Zhou can do his job properly. Don't finish before he even finishes introducing the opponent's basic info."

"Rumor has it that commentators are paid by the minute and word count. Teacher Zhou probably doesn't make much money off Meng Fan, hahaha."

For ordinary viewers, it was just entertainment. Many only learned the significance of Yu Song's gold medal through analyses by online experts and seasoned sports fans. Of course, everyone knew the general meaning of a gold medal—they never hesitated to praise and celebrate athletes who won glory for the nation.

Amid the online cheers for Yu Song's victory, the scene at the Nippon Budokan had already concluded the flag-raising and national anthem sing-along. Then came the bronze medal match for the men's heaviest weight class, +100 kg.

The bronze medal match was split into two bouts. In the first, Teddy Riner stepped onto the mat, looking lackluster, and defeated an Italian opponent with an ippon, easily claiming a bronze medal. Bronze—since winning a silver at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, he had only ever taken gold, never any other color. The only time he was defeated and his winning streak broken was in the second round, and he didn't even make it to the repechage, let alone win a medal.

Teddy Riner had no interest in this result. As soon as it ended, he found a good seat early on, waiting for Meng Fan to appear.

Meng Fan's opponent in the final was Japan's Kato Taro. Teddy Riner had never faced him—this was a new heavyweight talent from Japan, one he hadn't had a chance to fight. But having watched match footage, he didn't think much of the Japanese fighter from any angle. Perhaps he was slightly better than the Japanese silver medalist from the last Olympics, but still not strong enough, not impressive enough.

If Teddy Riner didn't rate him, he naturally didn't believe Kato could pose any threat to Meng Fan. He was just curious about how Meng Fan would win, and also wanted to watch a Meng Fan match from the sidelines as an outsider—that meant more than anything.

The two bronze medal matches ended quickly. Next came the gold medal match for the men's heaviest weight class. In every Olympics, this final drew major attention. Basically, the champion of this weight class represented the strongest judoka—after all, in an open-weight bout, the heaviest class almost always won, with few exceptions.

For CCTV-5, regardless of whether a Chinese athlete competed in this weight class or what the event's scale was, as long as it was broadcast or streamed, the final was always aired.

This time was no different. In terms of viewership, this final was undoubtedly the judo match that CCTV and domestic audiences cared about most—even more than the mixed team event, which also featured Meng Fan.

"China Central Television, China Central Television!"

"Next up is the final match of the Olympic judo individual events: the men's +100 kg gold medal bout. The competitors are China's Meng Fan and Japan's Kato Taro. This is one of the most anticipated matches in the judo program."

"In the red corner is our Chinese athlete Meng Fan. He was the flag bearer for the opening ceremony and holds the record for the most events entered by any athlete in Olympic history. Besides judo, he will also appear in wrestling and weightlifting. Earlier, Meng Fan easily defeated the biggest favorite for this Olympics, France's Teddy Riner."

Perhaps worried about running out of time, after briefly introducing Meng Fan, the commentator quickly moved on to the Japanese fighter.

"In the blue corner is Japan's Kato Taro, the host nation's representative. He has been the most outstanding Japanese judoka in the men's heaviest weight class recently. In the domestic Olympic trials, he defeated the silver medalist from the last Olympics, and with previous domestic competitions, this is his third victory over that opponent, earning him the right to compete here. Before this, he has defeated four opponents, displaying a very high level of technique and tactics."

"The arbitration panel for this match consists of..."

"The athletes bow and step onto the mat. Good, the match begins now."

"Before this, the two have never faced each other, mainly because Meng Fan has participated in few international competitions."

"Kato Taro chooses to attack first—this is his consistent style. Even against the biggest dark horse of this Olympics, widely recognized as Asia's strongest judoka, he hasn't changed his tactical approach."

The commentator's voice suddenly paused, then erupted: "He won! Meng Fan won!"

Teacher Zhou Yingjie was certain he hadn't wasted a single word, trying his best to keep up with the match's pace, but he still couldn't match Meng Fan's rhythm. Before that shout, he was sure Meng Fan hadn't made any move—otherwise, he would have prioritized describing it.

In an instant!

They say judo's outcome is decided in a single moment, and Meng Fan had clearly taken that to the extreme.

What just happened?

Not only was the commentator confused, but most viewers familiar with Meng Fan, who had been watching the screen intently, were also baffled.

It seemed that as soon as Kato Taro grabbed Meng Fan, Meng Fan threw him to the ground, and the referee declared the match over. More than how Meng Fan threw Kato, what everyone saw more clearly was the referee hesitating slightly before making the call.

Replay?

The live broadcast didn't immediately show the decisive moment. It wasn't until the referee signaled the two athletes to stand in the center and raised Meng Fan's hand, declaring him the winner, that the replay was shown.

"Alright. Let's look at the replay now! Kato Taro grabs Meng Fan's sleeve and attacks. You can see Kato put in effort, but he couldn't throw Meng Fan. Meng Fan counters... Let's watch the replay again. Meng Fan's hand speed is incredibly fast. Even in slow motion, his hand is a blur, viewers—are you sure that's just fast hand speed and not a laggy screen? Meng Fan's hand grabs Kato's collar, and then it's clear: this is a seoi nage, a very simple and basic move, but it instantly defeated the opponent. Yes, this can truly be called a one-second victory!"

"This reminds me of an ancient Chinese saying: 'One force overcomes ten techniques.' No, strictly speaking, I should add another: 'In martial arts, only the unbreakable and the fast cannot be defeated.'"

After saying this, Teacher Zhou Yingjie felt quite frustrated. How did a proper Olympic match turn into a martial arts commentary? But if he didn't put it that way, he couldn't think of any other words. From a technical and tactical standpoint, there was really nothing more to say.

"Let us congratulate Meng Fan on winning the Olympic gold medal in men's +100 kg judo! And congratulations to the Chinese judo team for winning two gold medals today, claiming the men's and women's heaviest weight class titles! With this, the Chinese judo team has won three gold medals—the best result in history!"

"Take a short break. Next, we'll bring you post-match interviews and the award ceremony."

Though it was called a short break, the live broadcast didn't cut to commercials. It stayed at the Nippon Budokan. After the referee declared victory, the judo team's head coach, Xiao Yunlin, rushed onto the mat, got the seoi nage he'd hoped for from Meng Fan, then quickly stood up and embraced him. Tears flowed freely.

Then came the interview segment. The reporter was the same one who had always interviewed Meng Fan. After congratulating him, she smiled and said, "Iron God, say a few words. I believe many viewers are waiting for you right now."

"Honestly, I was confident but also nervous. Confident I could win the gold, nervous because this was my first time standing on an Olympic final stage, and because your expectations were so high. I know that since my first judo match, many viewers have been watching me. I've had a smooth ride to this point, winning every match easily, which gave everyone a lot of confidence in me and made you all a bit arrogant, thinking this gold was already mine. Turns out you were right—at least for now, you can keep being arrogant. But—"

Meng Fan continued his trademark modesty in interviews: "But I won't get arrogant. I'll keep working hard."

That twisty, turny speech was so Meng Fan. The reporter was speechless, while viewers were caught between laughter and tears. But on second thought, Meng Fan's words were very honest, without any exaggeration, and hit the nail on the head about the audience's mindset.

After the interview came the award ceremony.

Meng Fan was awarded by the president of the International Judo Federation and the president of the Japan Judo Federation. Then, once again, the Chinese national anthem rang out in the Nippon Budokan, the Chinese flag was raised, and Chinese viewers joined in another chorus.

Afterward, the live broadcast didn't cut away. It followed Meng Fan as he ran toward the stands after stepping off the podium. He waved to his family in the audience. Among his family, the most familiar to domestic viewers were undoubtedly his sister Meng Caiwei and his girlfriend Wu Tong. But the most eye-catching was a cute little boy, who excitedly shouted "Uncle!" at Meng Fan. Laughing, Meng Fan jumped up and hung the gold medal around the boy's neck.

(End of chapter)