Judoka Remains Hopeful

Team Fiji Judoka and 2021 Olympic Games hopeful Tevita Takayawa remains confident of qualifying after undergoing a knee surgery early this year after an injury sustained during an Olympic qualifying event.

"My university is still carrying out training but we have cancelled all the scheduled training camps we were supposed to have with other universities because of this outbreak," he said.

"A step back in preparation for the Games but the intensity in my training is still there."

Hailing from Tovu Village in Totoya, Lau, Tevita currently attends Ryutsu Keizai University, Ryūgasaki, in the Ibaraki Prefecture. He said that without competitions he could not accurately say where he was right now performance wise.

"Because I have just gained back confidence on my knee post surgery, my coaches and I will try to find alternatives to supplement my preparation for the Tokyo Olympic Games," he said.

Tevita said with the current pandemic facing the world, he was fortunate to have a scholarship here provided by the university.

"Ryutsu Keizai University has been a massive help towards my road to the Olympics and I’m very thankful for that," he said.

With the announcement of the cancellation of the Judo Qualification Tournaments Tevita said it was still too early to speculate on what the upcoming tournaments would be and where it will be held.

"I understand discussions between the International Judo Federation (IJF) and International Olympic Committee is still taking place.

"The IJF will update me and all the judo athletes on the road to qualification as soon as they can but they also continuously remind us to just stay healthy and keep training," he said.

Tevita's mentor and Olympian Josateki Naulu said since the IJF has cancelled all remaining Olympic qualifying tournaments since the beginning of March, Fiji Judo Association and the rest of the world will have to wait and see what course of action the International Federation and IOC will roll out in terms of qualification.

"A lot of this is beyond our control and our main concern is overcoming the pandemic," Josateki said.

However, Josateki said Tevita's training and preparation would not be greatly affected.

"We work in 4 year Olympic cycles and plan training camps and tournaments by the dates and to have that postponed 4 months out will have some form of effect on the athlete," he said.

"Fiji Judo Association has been representing Fiji at every Olympic Games since the 1980’s.

"We have through the years, built resilience and instilled that into our athletes that carry our legacy."

Josateki said he believes that as long as the athletes put in the hard work the rest will take care of itself in terms of results and also financially.

"Funds are always an issue and it won’t go away but we are focused on representing Fiji at the Olympic Games in Tokyo and will make all necessary arrangements to support our athletes," he said.

Tevita is one of six Fiji athletes who, as IOC Scholarship recipients, receive a training grant specifically to assist towards qualifying for the Tokyo 2021 Olympic Games.

Other recipients include Robert Elder (Archery), Winston Hill (Boxing), Eugene Vollmer (Athletics), Matelita Buadromo and Epeli Rabua (Swimming). The IOC has confirmed that Tokyo 2020 Scholarships will continue through to the Games in 2021.

Sally Yee (Table Tennis) a scholarship recipient through a joint IOC and Japan Table Tennis Association is another athlete vying for Tokyo 2021 qualification, who is currently back in Fiji after the High School she was attending closed down due to the outbreak of COVID-19.

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