Mashu Baker will likely miss this summer’s world championships due to injury, according to Excite News. On April 2nd, at the All-Japan Championships, Baker sustained a dislocated shoulder, which required him to withdraw from the match. The latest news reports that the injury to his right shoulder was originally sustained prior to the 2016 Rio Olympics where he won the gold medal, but the injury was kept hidden from the media.
Further, his physician had been recommending surgery since prior to the olympics, but set the recovery period at about 8 months, meaning he would likely be out of high-level competition for up to a year. He had suffered from a series of subluxations in the same shoulder prior to the olympics.
For Baker, the tournament turned out to be the perfect storm, as his decision to compete was left until the final hours. His family cancelled their trip from Tokyo to Fukuoka, anticipating his withdrawal due to an injury to his leg. The timing was also difficult as his entrance into his new company after graduation from university overlapped with the tournament. His former coach at Tokai University, Kenichiro Agemizu reported to the press that prior to the tournament he had hardly been able to train.
However, the pressure to compete in the tournament was great as entrance was nearly a prerequisite for consideration for selection to the world championship team. Now Baker must decide on the timing to undergo surgery, but we can be almost certain that he will miss the April 29th All-Japan Open Weight Championships.
The Japan’s team has a large number of high profile athletes sitting out with injury at the moment. It makes one marvel at the thought that Ryoki Tani competed in 5 consecutive olympic games and went on winning streaks nearing the hundreds at certain points in her career.
*UPDATE: Baker will not be taking part in the open weight championships, but his selection for the world championships is still a possibility depending on his surgery and recovery. (source: https://mainichi.jp/articles/20170406/k00/00m/050/131000c)
I miss watching Mashu fight. He is such a class athlete. I wonder when he will return to world stage. He surely must..
Yes, he is a fantastic judoka.
Unfortunately, I think his injury was really quite debilitating and I doubt we will see him back his previous level.