Judo Star Tate Saito Vows to Make Triumphant Return After Undergoing Neck Surgery: ‘I’ll Be Back on the Mat in No Time

Tatsu Saito (22, JES Group), who placed 5th in the men’s 100kg judo class at the Paris Olympics, underwent neck surgery on the 30th due to a hernia in his cervical vertebrae. On the 31st, the Judo Club of his company made the announcement on his official Instagram.

Late at night on the 30th, Saito himself posted a photo of himself lying in a hospital bed, writing, “Actually, since around May, I have been unable to use my right hand at all, and after the Olympics, I underwent a thorough examination and found that it was worse than I had expected, so I had surgery today. I did,” he wrote.

According to his company, he will be hospitalized for about two weeks. Although the timing of his return has not yet been determined, he is expected to take a rest before the end of the year, and his participation in the selection tournament is also unclear, making it difficult for him to participate in the World Championships (Budapest) next June.

The cervical vertebrae are made up of seven bones that support the neck. Because it is a nerve pathway, if it is compressed for any reason, it can cause numbness or other abnormalities in the limbs. Another athlete, Shota Horie, a former member of the Japanese national rugby team, developed an abnormality in which he was unable to use his left hand and had surgery on his cervical vertebrae in February 2015. After undergoing rehabilitation, he returned to action in July of the same year and participated in the World Cup in the fall.

Saito is an ace heavyweight whose father is the late Jin, who was a two-time Olympic champion and served as the Japan men’s national team coach and training committee chairman. In his first appearance at the Paris Olympics, he placed 5th in the individual event, and lost twice in the mixed team finals, earning only a silver medal.He had already announced that he would seek revenge at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, but first, he needed to get rid of his concerns and try to make a comeback. It became.

Saito posted on Instagram about his surgery, saying, “I will never give up. No matter what anyone says, I will return to the fighting stage. Thank you for your support.” He vowed to overcome his mental and physical hardships and return to tatami.

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