Tajikistan Grand Prix 2023 – D3: The Russians impose

It was a new Russian demonstration that the public in Dushanbe had the right to this Sunday. Let’s rather judge: two titles, in -100kg and +100kg for Matvey Kanikovskyi and Tamerlan Bashaev, two silver medals, in -90kg and -100kg, which go around the neck of Eldar Allakhverdiev and Niiaz Bilalov and two bronze for the -78kg Aleksandra Babintseva and the +78kg Daria Vladimirova.
Six medals which are added to the five already won yesterday and the day before yesterday for a comfortable total of eleven podiums including five titles.
A delegation composed mostly of young seniors: Ramazan Abdulaev, winner in -60kg, at twenty-five and two Grand Slam silver medals in 2021; Murad Chopanov, in silver at -66kg, had won the Kazan Grand Slam in 2021 and bronze at the Antalya Grand Slam; Twenty-three-year-old Makhmadbek Makhmadbekov won gold at the Kazan and Baku Grand Slams two years ago; Matvey Kanikovskyi, 21, remained, with his victory today, on another first place, at the Grand Slam of Ulan Baator almost a year ago.
Older, but already European champion and Olympic medalist, Tamerlan Bashaev, made a much better impression than in Doha. If their participation in the world championships had been announced to them a week before the start of the event, the authorization given to the Russians to fight again on the international circuit at the same time, restarted the planning machine for the team. Ezio Gamba.
This weekend’s results are a first indicator. Admittedly, the level of this Grand Prix was far from the XXL density of Doha. But still facing some solid seeds – we think of Bashaev who beats Temur Rakhimov, world No. 1 and fifth in Qatar, on a morote-seoi-nage launched standing up, or Abdulaev, who disgusts the Azerbaijani Turam Bayramov , world n°9, in ne-waza -, these n°2-3 Russians all held up physically.
It remains to be seen now how a desired participation will be organized as regularly as possible, because there are points to catch up.

And on the French side? A white day unlike Friday and Saturday: in -90kg, Loris Tassier suffered the tani-otoshi of Eljan Hajiev on the edge after fifty seconds of combat; in -100kg, Kenny Livèze loses against the German Louis Mai, second last week in Austria, after a fight with a little academic scenario: a very good first sequence from the 2022 world junior champion, then three minutes without attack and two shidos logically taken. Thirty seconds from the end, the German places a beautiful uchi-mata which puts the Habs on the edge. Waza-ari. But Mai panics and takes two shidos in ten seconds before Livèze places her special on the gong! A waza-ari everywhere. Visibly tested, the ACBB judoka dodges an attempted attack from the German but remains in line with the latter who sticks him to tackle him on his back. In +100kg, Clément Delvert suffered the o-uchi-gari of Kazakhstan’s Yerassyl Kazhybaev, in bronze at the end of the day. Finally -78kg, Fanny-Estelle Posvite, fifth in Tel Aviv and Tashkent this year, lost to the Russian Babintseva on a ura-nage a little packed at the start of the fourth minute of the fight.
A tournament which ends for France with four medals: gold for Pinot, which finds a strong dynamic, after its non-selection for Doha in individual. Her performance in the team event in Qatar, the sharpness of a controlled performance yesterday and we say to ourselves that the Olympic team champion is realigning herself with her most efficient self.
Bronze for Luka Mkheidze, who continues to rack up international tournaments and Benjamin Axus and Ibrahim Keita who win their first Grand Prix medal (Axus is twice a Grand Slam medalist).

Host country Tajikistan finished in second place in the medal standings. If the names of the winners in -81kg and -90kg are known to the circuit, this Grand Prix will have revealed a -66kg, Obid Dzhebov. Born Russian, this judoka strikes a blow on Friday beating Daikii Bouda and the two Russians in the category. SO one shot or the successful launch of a career among the world’s best in the category? To be continued in the coming weeks.