Niiaz Bilalov (IJF) and Zsombor Veg (HUN) came into the arena looking for gold, enjoying the atmosphere of the final block. Bilalov was the more precise of the two and ensured he would score first, using an o-uchi to o-soto-gari combination. Veg soon equalised though, being very active in the transition phases.
However, Bilalov shifted into a new gear and refused to let Veg near him again. He threw with a hopping o-soto-gari for waza-ari and quickly threw again for a third score. As the time ran out, there was nothing Veg could do but accept his silver medal.
Michal Jedrzejewski (POL) had a brilliant day to reach his first World Judo Tour final block but in the first bronze medal contest of the category he came under fire from Dzhakhongir Madzhidov (TJK). A strong top grip and an unshakable will to keep it was the start of Jedrzejewski’s downfall; a huge sode-tsuri-komi-goshi was the finisher! The Tajik judoka is a continental medallist and already a 5-time grand slam medallist and he applied his experience perfectly to reach the podium.
The second bronze medal contest was fought by Piotr Kuczera (POL) and Dzhafar Kostoev (UAE), the latter unhappy not to have gone further in the preliminary session earlier in the day. The two men were strategic and dangerous but also cautious, not wanting to make a costly error. In the end though, Kuczera did and Kostoev capitalised, countering him for waza-ari. Although Dzhafar Kostoev already owns 6 grand slam medals, this I this first at a grand prix.
Final (-100 kg)
Bronze Medal Fights (-100 kg)
