Former world champion Sagi Muki has not competed in the IJF circuit since the 2024 Olympics but has now formally announced his retirement from competition.
“Judo for me was never just a sport… it wasn’t just a part of my life, it was my whole life,” said an emotional Muki at a press conference. “I’m not retiring because I can’t, I’m retiring because I know exactly what is needed to be a world champion — and if I’m not willing to give it my whole life, I don’t want to stand on the mat.”
Muki was known as a sode-tsurikomi-goshi specialist, a throw he learned from his coach, Oren Smadga, himself a sode specialist. “Already in the first training session, he impressed me…,” recalled Smadga, a World and Olympic medalist. “It’s a privilege to coach a personality and human being like this. I love Sagi like my own son.”
He was also well-known for his unlikely friendship with Saeid Mollaei, the -81kg World Champion in 2018, who was originally from Iran. At the 2019 World’s, Mollaei was directed by officials from his country to throw a match in order to avoid potentially having to fight Muki.
Mollaei defected from Iran. He went on to represent Mongolia and later Azerbaijan. The much-anticipated match-up between Mollaei and Muki finally happened in 2022 at the Budapest Grand Slam, with Mollaei being the victor. The two of them displayed great camaraderie and mutual respect after the match was over.
Besides his World title, Muki also has two European Championships gold medals and nine IJF World Tour golds.
