Final: Aman Bakytzhan (KAZ) vs Yung Wei Yang (TPE)

Yang was under pressure from the less well decorated Kazakh right from the beginning. Bakytzhan showed great focus and confidence which led him to attack with a very strong seoi-otoshi that caught Yang for a waza-ari. Unfazed, Yang responded with an incredibly precise ko-uchi to earn himself an equaliser.

As the contest went into golden score, Yang began to take better control of the kumi-kata phases, neutralising Bakytzhan’s attacks well. The Kazakh fighter picked up two penalties to line up with the two Yang earned in the first part of the contest. It took seven minutes of extra time for the third penalty to decide the contest and it arrived on Bakytzhan’s side of the board. Yang has another medal to add to his impressive collection.

After the final, Yung Wei Yang spoke openly, “I took the victory by keeping up my daily training, never giving up, and constantly refining my technique through competition, today is finally my day. I want to thank my team, family, brother, and school for all their help and love. My future goal is to win an Olympic gold medal, and I believe I can do it.

Bronze medal contest: Dilshot Khalmatov (UKR) vs Luka Mkheidze (FRA)

Despite a great deal of movement, nothing much came of it as Mkheidze was ready for everything Khalmatov threw at him; the reverse was also true. As the four minutes passed, the Ukrainian was two penalties down and looked to be in trouble.

Double Olympic medallist Luke Mkheidze looked confident and comfortable throughout the four minutes but as the scoreboard indicated the beginning of the golden score period, the referee delivered a third shido to Khalmatov, meaning he would have biting further to do. Mkheidze is a formidable opponent no matter who he faces and today he finishes his campaign on the podium again.

Bronze medal contest: Maximilian Heyder (GER) vs David Starkel (SLO)

In a very different medal contest, one featuring two judoka far less used to the podium than Khalmatov (UKR) and Mkheidze (FRA), a determined pair stepped in to the tatami. Neither Heyder or Starkel have won a World Judo Tour medal before.

In the first part of the contest only penalties came, two to the German and one to the Slovenian. Just inside the last minute, Starkel received a barrage of attacks from Heyder but used it perfectly, spinning him on to the tatami with a sumi-gaeshi for a waza-ari. Starkel finally has his first grand prix medal, one that is accompanied by important points.