TOKYO-- After losing in the gold medal match of the men's 100kg judo event of the Tokyo Olympics on Thursday, South Korea's Cho Guham was equal parts gracious in defeat and motivated to do better next time.

Cho lost to Aaron Wolf of Japan by the golden score at Nippon Budokan in Tokyo, as a grueling match that lasted nine minutes and 35 seconds ended on Wolf's o-uchi-gari, or big inner reap.

"I was confident, but the opponent was strong," Cho said. "I felt it would be significant to face a Japanese opponent for the gold medal. I had a few opportunities but wasn't able to capitalize on them."

Cho lifted Wolf's arm in the air to congratulate the gold medalist, a display of gracious sportsmanship.

"I got the feeling that Wolf had done a lot of prep work on me," Cho said. "I think he was better prepared than I was. I have more work left to do."

Cho said the coronavirus pandemic, which forced the Olympics to be postponed by a year, also affected preparation for the South Korean judo team.

"It was difficult to get proper training done," he said. "I think all South Korean athletes here are capable of winning medals, but we went through a lot of adversity along the way."

Cho said he was losing a sense of purpose and motivation when the Olympics got pushed back, before putting himself together in time for Tokyo.

On the eve of his 29th birthday, Cho already knows what he wants to do once he goes home.

"I am going to start preparing for the next Olympics," Cho said.

Source: Yonhap News Agency