The World Judo Championships in Doha have started. The first day of competition was the triumph of the Japanese Natsumi Tsunoda, who won her third world title after 2021 and 2022.
Before the start of the Judo World Championships in Doha, the congress of the world federation took place on the spot. The expectations for the eight-day event in the capital of Qatar were huge in advance. The ranks were already well filled on the first day of the competition.
Natsumi Tsunoda has done it again. The 30-year-old Japanese is world champion in the weight class up to 48 kilograms for the third time. At the World Championships in Doha, she defeated the French Shirine Boukli in the final on the opening day.
Bronze went to Wakana Koga (Japan) and Assunta Scutto (Italy). Of the top eight seedings, seven advanced to the quarterfinals.
The fight for gold was also the clash between the two athletes, who currently occupy first (Boukli) and second (Tsunoda) place in the judo world rankings.
Double European Champion Boukli pushed hard from the start in the final. But the experienced Tsunoda was undeterred and increasingly took control as the fight progressed, eventually outwitting the French with a tomoe-nage while on the ground. The Japanese was awarded an Ippon rating for this, which was equivalent to World Championship gold. Marius Vizer, Chairman of the World Judo Federation, presented the medals.
“Tomoe-Nage is my favorite technique, I’ve mastered it. Everyone knows that and is therefore preparing for it,” said the old and new world champion.
The Spaniard Francisco Garrigós was crowned in the men up to 60 kilograms. At European level he had already won the most important title and was European champion in the past two years. In the semi-finals in Doha he eliminated Olympic champion Naohisa Takato: a big surprise!
The fourth in the world rankings won the final against Dilschodbek Baratow (Uzbekistan). Hardly anyone expected him.
An extension was announced to help the decision-making process. Garrigós managed a kata-guruma, a shoulder wheel – he received the decisive score for it.
The Vice President of the Asian Olympic Council, Otabek Umarov, was responsible for the award ceremony. “After fighting Takato in the semifinals, I only had the finals ahead of me. I don’t know how many World Cup finals I’ll be in, so I had to give 100 percent,” Garrigós said.
The bronze medalists in the 60 kg category are Giorgi Sardalashvili (Georgia) and Harim Lee (South Korea).
2023-05-07 20:52:51
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