Chapter 422: Team Finals

Chapter 422: Team Final

"I forfeit."

When it was Yu Song's turn for the final match, after bowing, he raised his hand to signal forfeiture.

According to the rules, forfeiting an individual match gives the opponent an ippon victory, while in a team match, it awards a full-score victory.

France won this match, but even with a full score, they couldn't change the situation. The Chinese team advanced directly to the final.

Yu Song's forfeit was the best choice, solely to conserve energy, as winning the match would have been meaningless.

To prove once again that his championship wasn't due to luck?

He wasn't that naive.

There were still matches to come, and Yu Song wouldn't engage in such a battle of pride. There would be plenty of opportunities to face them again.

The Chinese team, which had advanced to the final in such a dramatic fashion, now felt less ecstatic and celebratory. Emotions truly changed with each situation.

Initially aiming for the top eight, then striving for the top four to secure a bronze medal, now with at least a silver medal guaranteed, they wanted to go further.

This was pushing their luck, but also the spirit of competition. Having reached the final, how could they not covet the championship? Impossible!

After advancing to the final, the Chinese team quickly left for the locker room. Next up were the repechage and bronze medal matches, giving the Chinese team at least two hours of rest. As for tactics, by now everyone had a clear understanding. The Japanese team also had a basic grasp of the Chinese team's lineup, and there wouldn't be major changes.

The Japanese team also entered the locker room, with no interest in watching the remaining matches.

Headache!

Before this, the Japanese team never expected the Chinese team to reach the final—neither did any other team, especially considering the match against France. The two women's victories afterward were somewhat inexplicable!

After this, the Japanese team realized the Chinese team was tough to beat. They could secure four points against France, but only two against China. The men's heavyweight category was out of the question, and the women's heavyweight and men's 90 kg categories were also unlikely wins.

Another potential loss was the women's 57 kg match, which was the biggest headache for Japan. Feng Xuemei in the team competition was ferocious, growing stronger with each match, completely disrupting Japan's strategy—France's loss was also largely due to this.

France had thought this category was a sure win, but not only was it not secure, they couldn't hold it at all.

Even though Japan sent their champion in this category, they still couldn't guarantee a win. Based on previous matches, Feng Xuemei's performance was terrifying.

Fortunately, Japan had a deep pool of judo talent, allowing them to adjust their lineup according to different opponents, unlike teams like China, which only had starters and substitutes. All of Japan's athletes were starters, just with different focuses—some excelled in defense, some in offense, and some were surprise weapons, all of whom were strong.

For example, in the 90 kg category, Japan didn't have a fighter who made it to the final, but they had someone who could counter France's champion. However, they had no one to counter Cheng Xunzhao of China.

In short, the Chinese judo team's entry into the final was not good news for Japan. They would have preferred France, which was stronger on paper, to advance—this "strongest" was based on overall analysis.

On the field, the repechage matches quickly concluded, leading to the bronze medal matches. China Central Television Channel 5+ broadcast the event live. Both bronze medal-winning teams came from Group B. Despite their poor form, France easily defeated the repechage winner from Group A, while Russia, emerging from Group B's repechage, easily beat Italy, which had lost to Japan in the Group A semifinals.

This highlighted the disparity in strength between the groups.

After the two bronze medal matches, at around 4 PM, the Nippon Budokan hosted the final judo event: the mixed team final, between the host Japanese judo team and the biggest dark horse of the Olympic judo competition, the Chinese judo team.

"CCTV, CCTV! The upcoming match is..."

Commentator Zhou Yingjie briefly introduced the current situation, then introduced the special guest commentator, Liu Ren, former national judo team coach, renowned Chinese judoka, and current official at the Weightlifting, Wrestling, and Judo Center. He asked, "Coach Liu, now that the judo competition is almost over, what are your biggest impressions and thoughts on the upcoming final?"

"My biggest impression is excitement!"

Liu Ren smiled and said, "The performance of our judo team this time has been excellent, as seen in the medal count. But I want to say that even the athletes who didn't win medals have made significant progress. Almost everyone has performed at their best and achieved personal bests. This is partly due to Meng Fan. He not only boosted the team's morale, but crucially, I can reveal here that Meng Fan is not just an athlete; he's also half a coach for the judo team and the technical-tactical instructor during pre-competition training."

"Meng Fan's strength goes without saying. He has proven himself the king of judo, with outstanding power and perfect technique. His coaching ability is also exceptional. Purely from a technical guidance perspective, he is definitely the best coach in the world. I can also reveal that Japan, as the dominant force in judo, once tried everything to learn from Meng Fan and invited him to coach. Of course, Meng Fan refused."

"Regarding the upcoming final, in terms of morale, China is not inferior. From a technical-tactical standpoint..."

Coach Liu gave a professional analysis, timing it perfectly. As he finished, the live feed cut to the arena, showing the athletes entering.

The commentators introduced the team members and their backgrounds. The two teams bowed to each other on the mat, and the others exited, leaving the first-match competitors.

"The first match is the men's 73 kg category. In the previous match, our athlete Li Wei was injured and couldn't compete... The Japanese athlete wins."

"A bit unfortunate. To lose by ippon with only 20 seconds left in the match. This was a tough match; we could only hope to minimize points lost, but it ended in an ippon."

"Unfortunate, but our athlete still performed commendably, even exceeding expectations."

For the audience, the Chinese team losing the first match was expected, causing no major stir. After watching so many matches, even those unfamiliar with judo knew that the men's 90 kg and the heavyweight categories were the key battles. As long as those three weren't lost, winning by technical points was highly likely, especially since Meng Fan's match was essentially a forfeit by the opponent.

The second match was the men's 90 kg category. Japan had no one to counter Cheng Xunzhao, but he still fought hard, even finding himself in danger several times. He ultimately won by a single yuko, narrowly tying the score at 1-1.

The third match: Meng Fan wins with a "full score."

This match was somewhat comical. Japan chose a weaker opponent, who was fully prepared to "sacrifice" himself. Whenever Meng Fan attacked, he completely gave up resistance, even helping Meng Fan "defeat" himself, all to let Meng Fan secure a quick ippon without scoring full points.

For example, when Meng Fan threw him with a seoi nage, he would lie flat on landing to increase back contact area for the referee to call ippon. Unfortunately, Meng Fan was a man of his word—if he said full score, he wouldn't miss any effect. When the opponent tried to lie flat, Meng Fan would hold him up.

The whole match scene was, well, heartwarming. They helped each other, truly embodying the spirit of friendship first, competition second.

After this "friendly match," the competition entered the focal point: the women's 57 kg category. It was a match with a huge disparity in strength but full of uncertainty.

No one could guarantee that Japan's champion could defeat Feng Xuemei in her current form.

If the Chinese team was a dark horse, Feng Xuemei was the darkest of them all!

"She won!"

At 3 minutes and 20 seconds into the match, Feng Xuemei, who was trailing, suddenly executed a "large wheel" into a "bear hug," then feigned a "large outer reap," finally transitioning from a "shoulder throw" into a "shoulder drop." This combination took less than two seconds, completely stunning the opponent's champion. The referee ruled it an ippon for Feng Xuemei!

"Beautiful! That combination was gorgeous! Feng Xuemei wins by ippon! This is truly a dark horse all the way!" commentator Zhou Yingjie exclaimed. "China leads 3-1. If they win the next match, China is the champion!"

Guest commentator Liu Ren was also visibly surprised by Feng Xuemei's dark horse run. He had coached her before and knew her well—her strength, speed, and physical advantages were there, but her technical-tactical application had always had flaws. Throughout the team competition, Feng Xuemei's most outstanding aspect was precisely her technical-tactical execution.

"Here, I can reveal another point. Meng Fan's role as a technical instructor for the Chinese judo team has been crucial in solving many issues with the athletes' technical-tactical usage. He has introduced numerous combinations and solved the connection problems between them. Within the judo community, this is humorously called the 'Meng-style method.'"

"I know Feng Xuemei well; I was once one of her coaches. She has excellent all-around conditions, but her only flaw was a gap in technical-tactical application compared to world-class levels. Now, everyone can see her outstanding performance in combinations. Such a huge change is likely related to the techniques Meng Fan brought. I believe Feng Xuemei trained hard privately, applied these techniques in individual matches, and truly unleashed their power in the team competition."

"Of course, this is just my speculation. I'm sure reporters will ask about it in post-match interviews. Feng Xuemei is the biggest surprise the Chinese judo team has brought to the world in this team competition! I believe she will perform excellently in future individual matches. The future is bright!"

(End of chapter)