By Esther Stam

Lenia Fabiola RUVALCABA ÁLVAREZ of Mexico was the second Paralympic champion to claim the gold this week at the IBSA Grand Prix in Baku, showing her strength in the -70kg category.

The 33-year-old showed absolute dominance by defeating world champion Alana MARTINS (BRA) with kaeshi-waza.

RUVALCABA ÁLVAREZ claimed -70kg gold

Other categories showed more surprising outcomes. For example, in the +70kg category, where Italian Carolina COSTA defeated world champion WANG Hongyu of China in the final. At the end of the day, five different nations claimed gold in six weight categories.

Mexico made their mark on day two

It’s a sign of the rapid development of IBSA judo taking place at the moment.

Mr. Henk PLUGGE, former Olympic referee and now Referee Director of IBSA, was impressed with the level of this IBSA Grand Prix.

“Last year at the world championships I was surprised by the high level of IBSA judo," he said.

"Here it was even higher. The organization of the tournament was absolutely fantastic. It’s a result of the cooperation between the International Judo Federation, the National Paralympic Committee of Azerbaijan and the International Blind Sports Association. You see that if we cooperate in this way, the level of judo improves.

A good example of this cooperation is that of the referees of this tournament. IJF referees worked on both the IJF Grand Slam as well as the IBSA Grand Prix. For some of the referees it was their first IBSA event.

Plugge said: “They were fantastic. The referees here have so much quality and understanding of judo, that they adapted the rules of IBSA judo very easily. It really contributed to the high level of this tournament.”

Men's +100kg medal podium

Day 2 results:

-90KG

1. NOURI, Vahid B2 IRI

2. SAFAROV, Rovshan B3 AZE

3. FEDIN, Vladimir B2 RUS

3. NAZARENKO, Oleksandr B2 UKR

5. CRETUL, Oleg B1 MDA

5. LATCHOUMANAYA, Helios B2 FRA

7. HIERREZUELO MARCILLIS, Jorge B3 CUB

7. HIROSE, Haruka B3 JPN

-100KG

1. SKELLEY, Christopher B2D GBR

2. SHEVCHENKO, Anatolii B1 RUS

3. GOODRICH, Benjamin B3 USA

3. UPMANN, Oliver B2 GER

5. POMINOV, Oleksandr B2 UKR

5. TENORIO, Antonio B1 BRA

7. ABDULLAKHANLI, Kanan B3 AZE

7. GOARNISSON, Yann B2 FRA

+100KG

1. SHARIPOV, Shirin B3 UZB

2. KHEIROLLAHZADEH, Mohammadreza B2 IRI

3. CHIKOIDZE, Revaz B2 GEO

3. MASAKI, Kento B2 JPN

5. HODGSON, Jack B2D GBR

5. ZAKIYEV, Ilham B1 AZE

7. FERNANDEZ SASTRE, Yordani B3 CUB

7. HARKAT, Hamza B3 ALG

-63KG

1. SHERIPBOEVA, Nafisa B3 UZB

2. POZDNYSHEVA, Olga B3 RUS

3. HUSEYNOVA, Khanim B3 AZE

3. WANG, Yue B2 CHN

5. CETE ARTAR, Duygu B2 TUR

5. PERNHEIM, Nicolina B1 SWE

7. SHARMA, Poonam B2 IND

-70KG

1. RUVALCABA ALVAREZ, Lenia Fabiola B3 MEX

2. MARTINS, Alana B2 BRA

3. ALIBOEVA, Vasila B3 UZB

3. ZABRODSKAIA, Olga B2 RUS

5. BRESKOVIC, Lucija B3 CRO

5. HUSEYNOVA, Zulfiyya B3 AZE

7. PASCHALIDOU, Theodora B1 GRE

7. ULUCAM, Raziye B3 TUR

+70KG

1. COSTA, Carolina B3 ITA

2. WANG, Hongyu B2 CHN

3. EMMERICH, Meg B3 BRA

3. SILVA, Rebeca B3 BRA

5. KARIMOVA, Dursadaf B2 AZE

5. NYAMAA, Altantsetseg B2 MGL

7. CHUNG, Sarah B3 USA

7. DAVIS, Kate Lee B2 USA

See also