Ai Tsunoda wins gold in Paris

The Spanish Ai Tsunoda left the Grand Slam in Paris, one of the most prestigious events in world judo, with a valuable gold medal, after winning this Sunday in the final of the category of up to 70 kilos the French Marie Eve Gahie, current European champion.

A triumph that did not come until the last second when the young Spanish judoka, only 20 years old, who took the initiative in the fight at all times, he forced Gahie’s third penalty, which sealed the win for Tsunoda. Yes, last year the ilerdense, number eleven in the world ranking, was proclaimed champion of Europe and the Junior World and in this start of 2023 she was confirmed as one of the great Spanish hopes for the last stretch of the Olympic cycle.

In Paris, Ai Tsunoda defeated Japan’s Moka Kuwagata in the first round, Israel’s Maya Goshen in second, and Denmark’s Laerke Olsen in third, a victory that placed her in the fight for the medals. The difficult commitment in the semifinals against the Croatian Barbara Matic, number one in the world ranking and who in 2022 beat Tsunoda twicedid not scare the young Spanish judoka, who defeated a rival who already had two penalties by “waza-ari”.

If the challenge in the semifinals was enormous, The final against the French Eva Marie Gahie, the current European champion, seemed no less complicated., who had shown an excellent level throughout the day. But Ai Tsunoda was not willing for anything or anyone to take away from her first gold in a Grand Slam, after hanging the silver last June in Tbilisi and the bronze last December in Tokyo.

The Spanish judoka always took the initiative in a fight in which Gahie, number five in the world ranking, never found a way to stop Tsunoda’s continuous attacks. A circumstance that did not go unnoticed by the match judge who did not hesitate to penalize Gahie with his third penalty in the last second, when everything seemed that it should be resolved in the “golden technique”. Less fortunate was the Spanish José María Mendiola who was quickly eliminated in the category of up to 81 kilos, after losing by “ippon” in his first fight against the French Francois Gauthier.

Mireia Lapuerta got the bronze medal in the category up to 48 kilos. The 23-year-old Spaniard defeated the Turkish Tugce Beder in a match that ended with 18 seconds to go. During the competition, she finished off powerful rivals like Argentina Keissy PerafanChristmas Eve Virginia Aymard and the kazakh Abiba Abuzhakynova, which is in the first position of the world ranking. In the semifinals she could not beat the Serbian Milica Nikolic, who beat her by “waza-ari”.