Eight years after he first won an Olympic silver in Rio, Japan’s Rei Higuchi finally won an Olympic gold medal in Paris. That journey to the top of the podium saw one of the lowest points of the 28-year-old Japanese wrestler’s career when he wasn’t allowed to compete in the Asian Olympic qualifiers for the Tokyo Olympics after missing weight at the weigh-ins ahead of the competition.
It was his personal struggle with making weight that made Rei Higuchi issue a sympathetic post about India’s Vinesh Phogat who was disqualified from the women’s 50kg final in Paris for missing weight.
Higuchi gives his thoughts on Vinesh’s disqualification and his gold-medal run in Paris in a chat with Sportstar.
Q. What was the best part about winning a medal? Was it everything you dreamed of?
A. After winning gold, I just wanted to sleep well. I was so focused on the competition that I couldn’t sleep much because of the anticipation and anxiety. I actually love to sleep. I don’t even carry a bag with me when I travel. I carry my pillow though.
Q. What was it like after winning the Olympic gold? What was the first thing you did?
A. I love French food and baked goods. I finally got to eat my favourite food which is macarons. I must have eaten at least 10 macarons one after the other. Right now, I am about 65 kg.
Q. What do you want to do now that you have finally won a gold at the Olympics, eight years after you first competed?
A. What I want to do is travel with my family. At the same time, I don’t know how much of my career is left. I consider age to be just a number but I have other interests too. I also like MMA (mixed martial arts). I often wonder what my next talent after wrestling is and I think MMA is a hobby that I’d like to get into for the first time. The possibilities of me competing in it are not zero. But if I’m going to do it, I don’t want to look weak, so I’m going to give it 100% and then announce it, so I don’t want to say anything about it.
Q. How do you think your life will change after this gold medal?
A. I got married in 2022 and had a child in 2023. Nothing will change. I will spend my time being with and appreciating my family as usual, and I will just go back to my life of wrestling as usual after this medal.
Q. Recently, a lot of Indians noticed you not just because you beat Aman Sehrawat but also because of your support for Vinesh Phogat. She announced her retirement in a tweet after she was disqualified from the Olympics for turning up over the weight limit. You quoted her tweet with a sympathetic message. Why did you do that?
A. I posted it without knowing whether anyone would be interested. I thought I could best understand how the Indian athlete felt because I made the same mistake (Higuchi missed the Tokyo Olympics after he came in above the weight limit at the Asian Olympic qualifiers). I gave it my all and experienced the same frustration and despair. I posted this in the hope that Vinesh doesn’t care what people around her say. I just wanted her to take it slow and go forward from there. When I went through that situation, I had the support of many people. Without that support, I would not have been able to recover from my failure.
Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat reacts after winning the round of 16 of the women’s freestyle 50kg wrestling match against Japan’s Yui Susaki. | Photo Credit: PTI
Q. Vinesh has now approached the CAS (Court for Arbitration of Sport) to get her a silver medal since she made the final on the first day. Do you think she should get a silver medal?
A. Unfortunately, the current rules won’t allow me to support that decision. I don’t like the rules where you have to make weight for the second day but we play sports by the rules. And the rules are the same for everyone.
Q. You finally won your first Olympic gold medal. What qualities do you think you possess that helped you win it?
A. I think I have a very good single leg takedown. I’m also able to adapt quickly to different opponents. I think my best quality is that I have a lot more composure than most people.
Q. What do you enjoy the most about wrestling?
A. I started wrestling at the dojo when I was only about 3-4 years old. I have been doing it for a long time. I think the most enjoyable part of wrestling is when you are in a good match and you have to fight really hard for a point. Apart from that, I enjoy wrestling because it’s given me the chance to participate in competitions in various countries and to meet people from different countries. It broadened my knowledge. The hardest part of that of course is speaking English, I guess. But I try to learn.
Q. Japan won 11 medals including 8 gold at this Olympics in wrestling – more than any other country. Why do you think that is the case?
A. I think Japanese athletes are better than other countries not only in training but also in mental training and controlling the balance between the amount of practice and rest. They also do a lot of video research.
Japan’s Rei Higuchi and India’s Aman compete in their men’s freestyle 57kg semifinal wrestling match. | Photo Credit: Eugene Hoshiko/AP
Q. You have wrestled Aman in the semifinals of the 57kg division. What do you think are his best qualities and where do you think he should work on?
A. Aman’s best quality is that he has a lot of physical strength. However, I noticed that opponents touch his left foot and then take points off him. I think it is very important for him to strengthen the defensive part of his game. I would also advise him to focus on his diet and nutrition.
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