Nils Stump experienced the brutality of judo on Monday in Paris. Having started as a gold medal contender, he had to retire after the first fight. "Extremely disappointed," is his conclusion.
Nils Stump needs a moment to collect himself. At some point, the word that begins with "sh..." and ends with "...eisse" comes to his lips. "It's difficult to find the right words at this point in time."
As world champion in 2023 and third in this year's World Cup, he had rightly traveled to Paris with very high ambitions. Then, after a brief moment of carelessness in extra time against Mongolian Erdenebayar Batzaya, the world number 26, everything was ruined in an instant.
Without a premonition
For Stump, the elimination in the opening fight came without warning. "I felt good, I was ready - and everything went well in the preparation," he said. "I actually started well, was able to attack and inflict two warnings on my opponent." In the end, this didn't help, as the 27-year-old from the Zurich Oberland made this "stupid mistake", as he said, in the "golden score".
Stump had already failed in the first round in Tokyo three years ago. That could still be ticked off as "gaining experience". Now, however, the "disappointment is of course extreme". Particularly bitter: many friends and family members had traveled all the way to Paris. "It hurts to have disappointed them all," Stump said.
Tough, but that's part of it
Judo is a brutal sport. It can all be over in a matter of seconds, there is no second chance. "Yes, it's tough," admits Stump. But he doesn't want to complain. "That's part of it, you have to live with it."
At the moment of bitter disappointment, he was unable to say what will happen next. "I don't know. It's not clear yet," he said and stomped off dejectedly.
