The first three minutes offered the win to either and neither at the same time, a game of physical chess, two of the best athletes in world judo unwilling to settle for their opponent’s favourite grip. The changes were fast and produced risky moments for both but in the end Abe was too sharp and with just under a minute to go she dropped underneath Krasniqi and executed a powerful, rising seoi-otoshi, scoring ippon and securing her fifth world title. Clearly over-the-moon to win, Abe let a huge smile escape, a warm moment for her to savour.
After the contest Uta Abe said, “My plan today was to do my own judo and no matter who I would meet, the only goal was to win.”
The first bronze medal contest pitted Hungarian home girl Roza Gyertyas (HUN) against Spanish technican Ariane Toro Soler (ESP). The crowd cheered loudly as the lights shone on their heroine and as the referee opened the contest it only grew louder. Gyertyes, buoyed by their support, put in the first attack, very quickly, showing her intention to win for them.
Gyertyas refused to drop the ball, focused on every second of the game. After just 90 seconds, she attacked with uchi-mata and spun Toro Soler on to the tatami for a waza-ari score and held her ground through the transition phase, securing the ‘osae-komi’ call from the referee. Ten hard-fought seconds passed and the 23-year old Hungarian had her first world medal. Her previous results include two grand slam bronzes and two European u23 bronzes but nothing on this scale. Gyertyas did it and the shock was clear for all to see; a great moment for the spectators who cheered for her throughout the day.
In the second bronze medal contest Kisumu Omori (JPN) and Mascha Ballhaus (GER) arrived for a high energy battle. Both attacked with power and commitment, both gripped intelligently looking to defend against trouble and set-up their own positive actions. In ne-waza, long exchanges ensued, the advantage switching from one to the other again and again. Neither could find a finish though. Omori seemed closer to scoring than her German counterpart but a near-miss is still a miss and the scoreline remained neutral, without even a shido to be seen, until two minutes into golden score. Both were given a shido for passivity; just a short lull, not indicative of the whole fight.
Following the penalties, almost immediately, Ballhaus back sprang into action and dominated the kumi-kata, not hesitating for a moment. She lifted and drove her hips underneath, producing enormous power, throwing Omori for ippon with a massive ura-nage. It was nothing short of impressive, ending a fantastic contest. This is Mascha Ballhaus’ second world bronze medal in as many years.
Final (-52 kg)
Bronze Medal Fights (-52 kg)
Final Results (-52 kg)
