In the first round, he faced Fuchun Huang (CHN) and knocked him out with a thunderous ura-nage for ippon, in less than a minute. It was then Oliver Barratt’s (GBR) turn to bear the brunt of Kostoev's tornado. Who could stop him?
We had to wait until the final against Dzhakhongir Madzhidov (TJK) to find out. To the cheers of the crowd, the latter had indeed qualified to face the UAE judoka. Unfortunately for him, today Dzhafar Kostoev was too strong. His first attack was powerful, and the landing in a bridge position of Madzhidov was clear. Ippon for Kostoev and the United Arab Emirates.
China showed great things throughout the weekend, particularly in the women's categories, but the men were not far behind. Fuchun Huang's (CNH) qualification for the first bronze medal match is proof of this. He faced Baymyrat Baymyrat (TKM) and gave him no chance pinning him down in the early stages of the contest after a nice piece of groundwork.
Karomatullo Khakimov (TJK) and Oliver Barratt (GBR) both had hopes of reaching the podium as well. A powerful o-soto propelled Barrett on his back for a clear ippon. This time, the public could explode with joy to celebrate a new medal for the hosts country.
Final (-100 kg)
Bronze Medal Fights (-100 kg)
