Justified optimism – Judo Austria

As expected, the first day of competition at the Judo World Championships in Doha (QAT) ended without any red-white-red placings. Katharina Tanzer (-48/SU Noricum Leibnitz/ST) remained without a win in Qatar as she did last year in her World Cup debut. Junior Marcus Auer (-60/Creativ Graz/ST) won (after a bye in round 1) a win against Juan Ramos (GUA) in the Golden Score, but then lost to number 5 of the tournament Giorgi Sardalashvili (GEO), also 19th , junior world ranking leader, former junior world champion and already Grand Slam winner and top 5 athlete in the general class. “In her fight against the Mongolian Gangaatar, Katharina unfortunately had no chance from the start, no access to the opponent. Marcus fought courageously against Sardalashvili, launched the first attacks, but then conceded a counterattack. Both would have had to surpass themselves for a surprise,” head coach Yvonne Snir-Bönisch summed up. The next ÖJV athletes will not be in action until Wednesday, the 4th day of competition in Doha (-63: Magdalena Krssakova, Lubjana Piovesana; -81: Shamil and Wachid Borchashvili). The 42-year-old from Potsdam and Olympic champion from 2004 ventures an outlook. Yvonne Snir-Bönisch on…

… the red-white-red -63 kg athletes Magda Krssakova and Lubjana Piovesana: “Magda’s draw is tough, in round 2 the number 4 of the tournament is waiting. Magda had a difficult time after her shoulder surgery in June last year, and her self-confidence was at rock bottom for a long time. She’s definitely back now. But it remains to be seen whether she will be able to return to the top of the world at the World Cup. Her training performance was very good. ‘Lulu’ had to pause the world tour for more than a year, only received her citizenship in January and had four tournaments to qualify for Doha. The draw is ok, but still challenging. In order to get a placement, she has to beat the number 6. In any case, the opening fight (against the American Hannah Martin) shouldn’t be a problem. The following applies to both: A top 7 placement would be an important step towards the top 20 for the world rankings and would bring important points for the Olympic qualification.

… the brother duel of Shamil and Wachid Borchashvili in the category up to 81 kg: “Wachid showed with his Grand Slam victory in Tbilisi that he is more comfortable in his old weight class than -90 kg. He’s definitely good for a surprise at the World Cup too. The brother duel is off the table for now – the two would only meet in the final, Wachid is in pool A, Shamil in pool D. Both have a very challenging draw, Shamil will most likely get it in his opening fight with ex-world champion Muki (ISR ) to do. On the other hand: He already beat him at the Olympic Games, and his draw was extremely difficult there too.”

… competition day 5 and the chances of debutante Elena Dengg and number 3 Michaela Polleres (-70): “Elena is our youngest starter at 18 and should gain her first experience in the general class. As number 5 in the IJF junior ranking, she earned this start at the World Championships and has already won 2 silver medals internationally in the junior class. I hope she can enjoy her World Championship debut in the general class too. Elena didn’t really count until October at the Junior World Championships in Coimbra. The following applies to Michi: She is number 3 in the world, recently won the Masters in Jerusalem and the Grand Slam tournament in Tashkent. The draw is absolutely fine. On a good day, it’s in for anything, even the world title. A medal is definitely within the realm of possibility!”

…Aaron Fara (-100), coming into action on Friday: “Aaron has achieved this World Championship with Grand Slam gold and silver in an impressive way. He is on course for the Olympics, but not yet seeded. If he wants a placement, he has to overcome the hurdle Zelym Kotsoiev (AZE), number 3 in the world, third in the World Championships from Tashkent. In the personal head-to-head it’s 0:4. But it’s been two years since the last duel.”

… the mixed team competition: “We were unlucky in the draw in Tashkent, but luck was on our side this time. On paper, we should be able to make it into the quarter-finals. Then Germany or Kazakhstan would wait. Difficult but not impossible. It would be cool if we already had two individual medals in our hands on Sunday – that would make the situation easier.”