In the next round it was Jovana Buncic (SRB) who paid the price for Takaichi's lethal ne-waza in less than a minute. Almost no more time was needed for the Japanese to complete another round, facing Alessia Corrao (BEL), waza-ari-awasete-ippon, the first score from uchi-mata and the second was a sasae. In the semi-final, Takaichi found Jisu Kim (KOR), who defeated pool B favourite Lucy Renshall (GBR). That should have been a sign demonstrating Kim's good condition. In the semi-final she proved to be a very strong competitor against Takaichi. After a first ippon in favour of the Japanese judoka which was then cancelled, it was the Korean athlete who managed to throw for ippon with a superb seoi-otoshi that surprised everyone, including her.
At the top of the draw, we once again expected a lot from Catherine Beauchemin-Pinard (CAN). Second in Baku in February, winner last week in Tbilisi, Antalya was to mark a new stage in the journey of this athlete, who builds her victories conscientiously and with a lot of skilful opportunism both standing and on the ground.
We felt from the opening of the competition day that the number one seed seemed a little tired. Despite everything, she built her first victory with patience since it took her more than five minutes of golden score to beat Sarai Padilla Guerrero (ESP) on penalties. She regained some efficiency in the next round, beating Habibe Afyonlu (TUR) in ne-waza. In the quarter-final, Beauchemin-Pinard found Katarina Kristo (CRO) and suffered the blow, unable to really impose her rhythm, being penalised three times. She still had a chance in the repechage but unfortunately could not transform it into a victory, losing to Magdalena Krssakova (AUT).
With Beauchemin-Pinard out, there was space for a surprise. In pool B, Barbara Timo was eliminated quickly by Anja Obradovic (SRB), herself being defeated by Magdalena Krssakova but then it was the Austrian's turn to lose, to Dali Liluashvili (AIN), who had no record at grand slam level so far. The final opposed Dali Liluashvili and Jisu Kim.
Liluashvili was the first to pick up a penalty, followed by a second during the first half of the final, putting a lot of pressure on her shoulders. The third shido was then given but this time to Kim. The contest then entered into a well balanced confrontation where none of the athletes could find a proper way to throw. As golden score was opening its doors, Liluashvili was penalised a third time, offering the gold medal to Jisu Kim. She was not the favourite of the competition but she made the best of it.
The first bronze medal contest opposed Magdalena Krssakova (AUT) and Miku Takaichi (JPN). Takaichi took a fast lead with a ko-soto-gake for waza-ari after only a few seconds and it was not long before the second technique arrived. It was uchi-mata this time and it deserved an ippon. This is medal number 15 for Miku Takaichi in grand slam tournaments.
The second bronze medal contest saw Iva Oberan and Katarina Kristo, both from Croatia, facing off for a place on the podium. It was with nice timing, a clean entry and a strong finish in the form of seoi-otoshi, that Katarina Kristo increased her chance for victory, earning a waza-ari. Iva Oberan was then also penalised three times and so the medal went to Kristo, who gave a big hug to her opponent-teammate once the contest was over.
Final (-63 kg)
Bronze Medal Fights (-63 kg)
