IJF Media sat down with Jeon Ki-Young, IJF Referee Supervisor, three-time World Champion, 1996 Olympic Champion and IJF Hall-of-Famer for the technical analysis of day 3 at the Baku Grand Slam.
ROUND 2 BEL NIKIFOROV vs CRO KUMRIC, -100 kg

“I am satisfied with today’s final day of the competition. I saw hardworking athletes on the tatami giving their best.

Personally, for me Serbian judoka Nemanja Majdov stood out today in his fight in the semifinal against the Spanish World Champion Nikoloz Sherazadishvili. I was very impressed by how he beat his opponent. Serbian judo is very unique.

SEMI-FINAL ESP SHERAZADISHVILI vs SRB MAJDOV, -90 kg

A particular technique I notice more frequently used is the reverse seoi-nage. A technique created by Korean judoka Choi Min Ho who became an Olympic champion at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Today, more judokas try this technique in a slightly modified form. I’m proud of the fact that the technique was invented by a Korean. Moreover, he was my pupil as I was a Korean National Team Coach at the Beijing Olympics.

We didn't have so many ippons and I also regret the fact that sometimes fights were won on shidos which is the kind of judo we don’t want to see. The same could be said for the heavyweight categories. It saddens me because the judo tends to be less attractive as a spectator sport this way.

SEMI-FINAL GER MALZAHN vs FRA MALONGA, -78 kg

Towards the future we must look into this and maybe bring in some changes so that judo continues to be attractive and exciting to watch.

After this Grand Slam I think It’s too early to make any assumptions who will peak towards the Worlds in Japan. It will be interesting to watch.”

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