Against Abdulwahab Alshammari (KUW), Melo kept up his momentum, producing a textbook sode-tsuri-komi-goshi, finished cleanly for ippon.
In the semi-final, the home crowd hoped to see their representative, Tsvetelin Martinov (BUL), reach the final but he too had to concede defeat. Arthur Melo, unstoppable today in Sofia, confirmed that he was indeed the man to beat.
The question then remained: who would have the honour of facing the Brazilian athlete in the final? Would it be Axel Cuq (FRA), top seed in pool C, or Anar Guliyev (AZE), top seed in pool D? In the end, neither came through; it was the outsider Khushnud Sultanov (UZB) who sprang the surprise and seized his chance. The Uzbek overcame Dimitrios Goulas (GRE) by yuko first, before advancing past the Frenchman in a walkover. In the quarter-final he defeated Omer Mar Barak (ISR), again by yuko, and then booked his place in the final by beating Arman Myssa (KAZ).
The final saw Arthur Melo (BRA) face Khushnud Sultanov (UZB). Melo took the lead quickly with an early yuko. Opportunistic and precise, he caused his opponent a great deal of trouble, despite Sultanov appearing the stronger judoka. With just under a minute and a half remaining, Sultanov levelled the score with a yuko before taking the lead with a sutemi-waza, initially awarded ippon but later downgraded to waza-ari. Moments later, he added another yuko with the same technique, extending his advantage. The closing seconds changed nothing, and it was Khushnud Sultanov who claimed the gold medal.
In the contests for bronze, Milan Szabo (HUN) met Arman Myssa (KAZ) for the first medal, while the second was decided between Anar Guliyev (AZE) and Tsvetelin Martinov (BUL). Arman Myssa secured the first bronze with a well timed sutemi-waza for ippon after an otherwise balanced contest.
The second bronze medal, despite strong support from the crowd, went to Anar Guliyev, who gave Martinov no chance. The Bulgarian collected two penalties and was thrown twice, first for yuko, then for waza-ari, handing victory and the bronze to Guliyev.
Final (-50 kg)
Bronze Medal Fights (-50 kg)
