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Japan closes the Tokyo Grand Slam with 12 golds

The last day of the Tokyo Grand Slam hosted another eight surprising judo categories

In the under 48kg category, Miyaki Kano continued Japan’s dominance from day one, beating his compatriot Tatsukawa with a decisive waza-ari (a move that involves knocking an opponent to the canvas and landing them on the ground). on your back, but without supporting it at all) .

The member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and president of the International Gymnastics Federation, Morinari Watanabe, presented the medals.

Olympic champion in the over 78kg category, Sone Akira, returned to the International Judo Federation (IJF) World Tour for the first time since the Olympic Games, and it seemed like she had never been absent. She defeated her compatriot with a strong falling technique.

His medal was awarded by Dr. Settimo Nizzi, Mayor of Olbia (Sardinia, Italy)

“It’s great that not only domestically, but also internationally, there are a lot of people watching me. I think a lot of my rivals also watched it to study my technique, so I have to be stronger and work harder. I also thank the fans for seeing me, it fills me with strength,” Sone Akira told reporters.

Italy and Korea end local dominance

In the under 100 kg category, Italy has finally put an end to local domination! With his rising star, Gennaro Pirelli, who surprised Iida Kentaro.

“I can’t believe it, coming here and getting a medal was my goal and my coach’s goal. I can’t find the words, I’m just very happy and that’s it”, confessed Pirelli.

Abe Uta swept the preliminaries to set up a rematch of the 2018 world finals, in which the Olympic champion tactically prevailed over former world champion Shishime Ai. She was clearly excited to win gold in the under 52kg category in front of the fervent Tokyo crowd.

His gold medal was presented to him by the IJF Secretary General, Jean Luc Rouge.

Korea also climbed to the top step of the podium, in the Jeon Seungbeom under 60kg category. who was excited to get his first world gold medal. And obviously, he couldn’t contain his joy.

After winning silver at this year’s Worlds, two-time world champion Maruyama defeated up-and-coming Hattori.

Takayama Rika defeated the specialist Newaza (a judo technique that consists of fighting one on one on the ground) and the Olympic champion Hamada on the ground, an impressive victory.

Ota Hyoga ended the day in incredible fashion by defeating former world champion Kageura with a magnificent o-uchi-gari (one of the original 40 judo throws developed by martial arts master Jigorō Kanō), giving Japan a total of 12 of the 14 gold medals. of this Grand Slam. an amazing feat

The atmosphere at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium was abuzz throughout the day as thousands of judo fans lined up to watch their favorite stars of all ages shine and have the chance to enjoy judo in all its forms.

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