-73kg is like the line at the butcher shop on a Saturday morning. There are more than twenty customers and they all want the best piece of meat. High demand and low supply, because there is only one title available and it cannot be divided in parts. Here the important thing is not to arrive first but to finish first. You can get up early but you can also get lost early. The customers are numerous, more and more, and have the same palate, a refined taste for gold.
Shohei Ono and Lasha Shavdatuashvili

There are, as always in the post-Olympic period, notable absences and in this case, there is one that is capable of changing the consumer habits of the clientele. We do not know if the Japanese Shohei Ono has become a vegetarian or if he prefers fish but so far he has not been seen buying meat from Tokyo. As he is the best customer, the one that consumes the most gold, his presence always causes an increase in prices.

Shohei Ono

Supply and demand, okay, but don't forget the competition because judo is the best example of freedom, freedom for business, freedom for entrepreneurs with dreams of greatness. In that sense, Lasha Shavdatuashvili is the CEO of a multinational that bears his name. When Ono is not there, the Georgian wins. When Ono is there, the Georgian doesn't go hungry and tries other things that taste like silver or bronze. These two are like Coca-Cola and Pepsi.

Lasha Shavdatuashvili in white judogi

At this point we learn that Ono has declined the invitation and that his replacement will be Soichi Hashimoto. It's not the same but it's not bad either. Hashimoto is a former world champion, a product of the Japanese school and a favourite by definition. Of course, the absence of Ono opens up encouraging prospects for the rest.

Lasha Shavdatuashvili in white judogi

So, behind Hashimoto and Shavdatuashvili there is a legion of businessmen with the desire to prosper, a mixture of old school, traditional spirit and new techniques, something more modern and cutting-edge. It is another way of saying that experience and youth compete in a highly competitive market and the -73kg category is one of the greatest expressions of how hard it is to prevail. Here it is necessary to constantly reinvent oneself, look for new ideas and really work on them. Here there is an industrial revolution every day and those who do not adapt to the new times are left behind.

Soichi Hashimoto in white judogi

Shortly before facing the new century, many feared a great blackout, a year 2000 synonymous with darkness and uncertainty. Here the opposite happens. We know that the activity and prosperity of the weight are assured. What we do not know is the name of the customer who will leave the butcher’s shop with the most coveted piece. That gold is proof that -73kg knows no crisis and that's always great news.

See also