Having been down by a waza-ari in their semi-final, Jakub Sordyl (POL) worked incredibly hard to eventually beat Ushangi Kokauri (AZE), the number one seed, by a yuko and three penalties. Kokauri just couldn’tt hold his lead under the pressure from the Polish fighter and had to concede, dropping him into a bronze medal contest.
In the final, Sordyl was set to face 2025 junior world champion Bislan Katamardov (RUS), a newcomer to the senior circuit. Both men were searching for their first grand slam medals in Dushanbe and both found them but whose would be gold?
Katamardov was first to score, a yuko with a kata-guruma. When he tried the same technique again a little later, Sordyl was ready and avoided the score. He went on to use the transition phase to secure the “osaekomi” call from the referee. He held on for the full 20 seconds and let a massive smile spread across his face.
Ahead of receiving his medal, Sordyl said, “After I won the semi-final, I needed a couple of minutes to realise that I had reached the gold medal match. After I calmed down, I began to focus on the possible outcome: winning here. I will celebrate after Astana, with my girlfriend, and take a couple of days off.”
Twenty-year-old Darius Dobre (ROU) is beginning to make his mark on the senior circuit. He fought and lost for bronze two weeks ago in Tbilisi at the European Championships and is straight back into a final block in Dushanbe, his first final block on the World Judo Tour; in fact it is his first World Judo Tour appearance ever.
Facing him for bronze was Dzhamal Gamzatkhanov (AZE), a far more experienced judoka. It was that experience that proved to be essential as the Azerbaijani won with three straight penalties. Dobre is coming but today it was Gamzatkhanov who took the medal.
In the second bronze medal contest Mansurov Mukhammadkodir (UZB) opposed Ushangi Kokauri. The former has no significant reference at grand slam level and so facing the world number 8, a world medallist, would be a daunting task.
Mukhammadkodir took the challenge on with admirable enthusiasm and halfway through the contest threw Kokauri for a waza-ari with a well controlled sumi-gaeshi. However, from that point on he defined with all the energy he had and it became negative. Kokauri chased him hard and so the Uzbek judoka began to collect penalties, 2 on the board with just a few seconds remaining. Here his inexperience cost him dearly and having been virtually on the podium, he dropped on to his front to avoid being attacked. The third penalty was inevitable.
Mukhammadkodir had the medal in his hand but through inexperience he let it slip through his fingers. The rules are clear that even in defence, judoka must remain positive and engage in the contest fully.
Final (+100 kg)
Bronze Medal Fights (+100 kg)
