Judo boss rants

“Everyone wants to see us lose the final”

Movli Borchashvili is fighting for the title with the Galaxy Tigers.(Bild: Harald Dostal / picturedesk.com)

Thick air on the judo mat! Before the Final Four tournament on Saturday in Gmunden, Thomas Haasmann, club boss of the Galaxy Tigers, complains about changes to the mode. In his opinion, they should prevent his lads from winning their eleventh title and catching up with the record champions. But that is precisely the goal of the controversial coach.  

Normally, all you need is a calendar to know when the volcano will explode: On the day of the Final Four tournament, when his Galaxy Tigers will be competing for the Bundesliga title. This time, however, club boss and bundle of emotions Thomas Haasmann goes through the roof earlier . . .

"Because the only purpose of the tournament in Gmunden is to stop us - by any means necessary!" By which he is primarily alluding to the new mode - the champion will no longer be determined in two rounds on Saturday, but only in one: "Opens the door to chance, a disadvantage with our broad squad, plus there's no more tactics." Officially, there will be no time, as the women (with Samurai Vienna) will also be crowning their champions at the same venue for the first time.

Thomas Haasmann rarely minces his words.(Bild: GEPA)

In addition, the Viennese lack the element of surprise - more than once Haasmann has taken his opponents by surprise with a top legionnaire in the final. "Now every legionnaire has to be used in the basic round," sighs the 63-year-old. Regardless of the outcome of the tournament, in which Mühlviertel awaits in the semi-finals, three Tigers judoka will be allowed to train in Tokyo for three weeks afterwards: Bernd Fasching, who finished seventh at this year's World Championships, Magamed Borchashvili, who took bronze at the U23 European Championships, and heavyweight Movli Borchashvili, who finished third at the Military World Championships in Tashkent. Haasmann is determined to win the title: "We want to win our eleventh title, which would put us on a par with record champions Mühlviertel. But it took them 42 years, we'll do it in twelve."