Japanese heavyweight Kosei Inoue said Thursday he considered quitting judo after missing out on a second straight Olympic gold medal in Athens but is determined to bounce back and earn redemption in the over-100-kg class in Beijing in 2008.
Sydney Olympic champion Inoue was widely expected to retain his men's 100-kg title in Greece this past summer but came home empty-handed.
He suffered a stunning defeat to Elco van der Geest of the Netherlands in the quarterfinals, missing his chance for gold, then lost in repechage to Movlud Miraliyev of Azerbaijan, ending any hopes of a medal.
"Of course I was disappointed (about Athens) but the only way is forward," Inoue told a press conference at Tokai University in Kanagawa Prefecture.