Miltos Tentoglou was unable to defend the title he won two years ago in Budapest and handed over the World Champion crown to Italian Matteo Furlani in Tokyo.

The Greek champion, who traveled with some ankle discomfort, was never able to deliver his best performance in the final, attributing his poor showing to… overexertion during the warm-up, which resulted in cramps during the competition.

Tentoglou Reflects on His Performance

“It was the worst competition I’ve ever had. I felt great and very strong during the warm-up. Maybe I made a mistake by putting in more intensity than usual during the warm-up, but I truly feel I am in the best shape of my life and believed that everything would go well,” he said in the mixed zone, adding:

“But, unfortunately, there are also bad days. I suffered cramps in both calves at the same time on my first attempt. And from there on, I wasn’t able to execute anything correctly.”