Judo/Hifumi Abe “I absolutely must have one” Thoughts on his companion since university days “They’re like family” – Sponichi Sponichi Annex Entertainment

Hifumi Abe (27), who won consecutive titles in the men’s 66 kg judo category at the Paris Olympics, appeared on Nippon Television’s “Oshare Clip” (Sunday at 10:00), which aired on the 10th. He shared an episode with his attendant.

Hiroki Katakura, who served as Abe’s attendant from university until the end of the Tokyo Olympics, appears on the VTR. “When we were in college, we were together 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, except for sleeping,” he said.

Even though he felt the pressure of being the attendant of a world-class athlete every day, wondering, “Will I be okay?”, he still managed to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics and win his long-awaited gold medal. “I’m so happy. I felt a huge sense of relief,” he said.

After the Tokyo Olympics, Abe was scheduled to be Katakura’s attendant for the tournament. However, soon after, Katakura felt something strange in his head and went to the hospital. In the video, he explained, “I was diagnosed with a cerebral hemorrhage, and was admitted to the hospital for emergency surgery.” “I had to stay in the ICU for almost a week, but Hifumi and I were rushed to the hospital right away, and it was obvious that my eyes were wide open…They came almost every day for the rest of my hospital stay.They were very supportive. He expressed his gratitude to Abe.

In response to this story, Abe said, “At that time, I was doing an interview or something, and after it was over, I looked at my phone and thought, “Is it a brain hemorrhage?” I asked the hospital, and I went to the hospital, but I was crying the whole time.I was panicking. …I cried every day,” and expressed his feelings at the time, saying, “Hiroki’s presence was huge in my heart, so I didn’t know what to do.”

However, Katakura said that Abe said something to him, “He told me that even if I quit, I want him to stay by my side forever.”He added, “Even before this Olympics, we practiced together every day…” He even called me the day before the competition to say, “I passed the weigh-in.” Even after I finished, he called me that night and went to dinner with me and gave me a gold medal.” Looking back at the Paris Olympics. “My ultimate goal is to support Hifumi so that they can achieve their fourth straight victory,” he concluded with determination.

In the studio, host Ikusaburo Yamazaki asked, “What kind of person is Hiroki-san?” “He is absolutely indispensable. Without Hiroki, we can’t win the Olympics.” He prefaced this by saying, “It’s important that he supports me in terms of judo, but if anything, it’s mentally. , Hiroki’s words give me confidence and make me feel stronger. At some point, I feel like, “What would I do without Hiroki?” He said, “He’s like family to me.” Ta.

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