Funa Tonaki and Naohisa Takato aim to give the Japan national judo team a boost by winning gold medals on July 25, when the judo competition kicks off at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Tonaki and Takato were among the 12 additional judoka named to the team by the All Japan Judo Federation last week. Takato will be making his second appearance in the Olympics, while the 2020 Games will mark Tonaki's debut.
While anything short of winning gold is an underachievement for Japanese judoka, the 2020 Games will give Takato the chance to move past the humiliation he suffered four years ago at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, where he settled for bronze.