Updated July 28th, 2021 at 17:38 IST
Tokyo Olympics: Judo Athlete defends coach after viewers stunned by slapping preparation
As the 2020 Tokyo Olympics has kept many glued to their television, German judo star Martyna Trajdos has gone viral for a rather strange reason.
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As the 2020 Tokyo Olympics has kept many glued to their television screens, German judo star Martyna Trajdos has gone viral for a rather strange reason. A video clip, which has been shared by several internet users across the globe, shows Trajdos’ coach shaking and slapping her face as part of her pre-match preparations. The German judoka was all set to step into the mat to take on Hungarian Szofi Ozbas in the woman's 63 kg category when she received a pre-bout “motivation” from her coach Claudiu Pusa.
Trajdos was filmed marching out to her Judofight with Pusa on Tuesday. Pusa was then seen dropping his bag before giving her the motivation “talk”. In the video, one can see Pusa grabbing Trajdos by the shoulders and shaking her before slapping her twice across the face as she was marching for her match.
A czo tu się odpoliczkowało w ogóle?! pic.twitter.com/mX2r9rMMTA
— Mischa Von Jadczak (@michaljadczak) July 27, 2021
Netizens call it 'horrible, disturbing'
Following the incident, Olympic fans were left confused and concerned after seeing the coach violently shaking the athlete and slapping her face on the left and the right cheek. While taking to Twitter, netizens questioned the coach's 'hands on' approach, and some even shared memes. "Abusive coach. Also it’s counter productive: even in martial arts athletes need cool heads and focus, not judgement clouded by aggression response," wrote one user.
"Anyone who has done judo or combat sports understands. Best of luck in competition!" wrote another. One user even joked and said, “My first cup of coffee greeting me in the morning”. Another said, “In few families, women do this ritual on their husbands to wake him up”.
It’s horrible and disturbing
— Lucy Ward (@lucymirandaward) July 28, 2021
She better win the bout, I wonder what's the post match ritual for cool down..
— Sagar Sansare (@sagar2104) July 28, 2021
Need someone to motivate slap me like this 😬
— Marc (@Verniey_MX) July 28, 2021
This is common among coaches of martial arts. Wakes you up and gets you ready for the fight. No harm meant or delivered. In fact this is welcome before a bout.
— Dry Humour (@parched_humour) July 28, 2021
But the perpetually offended will be offended. It’s their God ordained job description after all.
Because of the type of sport she is in it makes sense. Physical combat. I can see why she engages in it
— 🤔 (@Jamaica658) July 28, 2021
Please tell me that you're not endorsing what is, in effect, a physical assault on a woman by a man 🤨
— Brian (@Dervheid) July 28, 2021
Regardless of the circumstances.
Disturbing
— Fast Horse (@FastHorse16) July 28, 2021
Trajdos defends coach
Meanwhile, Trajdos has defended her coach and said that the slaps were not strong enough. With her opponent Szofi Özbas winning the match, Trajdos took to Instagram sharing the clip and contending that "this was not hard enough". She expressed disappointment that the interaction was what people were focusing on over her Judo fight.
“I wish I could have made a different headline today. As I already said, that’s the ritual which I chose pre-competition! My coach is just doing what I want him to do to fire me up,” Trajdos said.
(Image: Twitter)
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Published July 28th, 2021 at 17:38 IST
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