Talgat Orynbassar was the man tasked with securing the Kazakhstan national anthem on day one and in front of his country’s president. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev was present in the arena to enjoy the final block, a committed supporter of sport. Orynabssar must have felt the pressure but he handled it beautifully, delivering dynamic and entertaining judo from the beginning of the final.
His opponent, Sukhbat Byambasuren (MGL) met energy with energy, attacking just as much as Orynabssar and endangering the fairytale finish for the home team. As the final minute approached with no scores on the board, it was in fact Byambasuren who made space to secure a yuko. In response, Orynbassar, with limited time to structure a game plan, engaged in a full-contact 50/50 situation, but Byambasurenwas ready for anything and hooked on with a ko-soto-gake. He scored ippon and the crowd gasped. The Kazakh flag would be flown in the awarding ceremony but it would be the Mongolian flag which would fly highest of all.
After the final, Sukhbat Byambasuren (MGL) said, “I really wanted to win in Astana right before Ulaanbaatar, which is one of the most important events for me this year. My confidence comes from the hard work I did in practice and although the Kazakh fans were great, I believed in my judo.”
For the first of the two bronze medals, there was no contest as Magzhan Shamshadin was unable to compete, due to injury. Sherzod Davlatov gave a respectful bow and accepted the medal.
For the second bronze medal, young Frenchman Enzo Jean would have his work cut out, Yung-Wei Yang, a world and Olympic silver medallist, being his opponent. However, Jean was ready for the challenge and gave Yang a warning in the opening exchange, one which came close to putting him ahead. A review by the referee supervisors found there was no score but this moment gave Yang the boost he needed.
Yang began to link techniques together and dominate the space, attacking with a variety of techniques and from all manner of directions. He eventually scored with a sumi-gaeshi that was set up via a ko-uchi-gari. His waza-ari was uncatchable and Jean hung his head as the gong sounded.
Final (-60 kg)
Bronze Medal Fights (-60 kg)
