Asami clinched the gold medal in her weight category at the 2010 World Championships in 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games host city Tokyo and successfully defended her title in Paris the following year.

The Japanese was denied a third straight world crown, however, as she lost out to Mongolia's Mönkhbatyn Urantsetseg at the 2013 event in Rio de Janeiro.

Asami, renowned for her back throws and foot-throwing techniques, earned another silver at the 2015 competition in Astana.

She finishes her career with four World Championships medals to her name, as well as a host of other major honours.

Asami won two gold medals at the International Judo Federation (IJF) Grand Slam event held annually in the French capital as she topped the podium in the under 48kg class in 2011 and 2013.

Her most successful year came in 2011, where she also won gold at the World Masters Championships in Baku and Grand Slam events in both Rio and Tokyo.

Despite her impressive medal haul, Asami never quite managed to live up to her potential at the Olympic Games.

The 28-year-old endured disappointment four years ago as she lost in the first round of the final qualifying trial ahead of London 2012 before suffering the same fate before Rio 2016.

“I avidly threw myself into judo for 25 years,” Asami said in a statement.

“The challenges I had in the process of going after my dream, the Olympics, is something I’ll treasure for the rest of my life.”