Takeoka and Channyeong Kim (KOR) walked on to the field of play for an all-Asian final under the lights of the Accor Arena Bercy. The current world champion knew it wouldn’t be as easy as his red back patch suggested and so he got down to work. However, a ko-uchi-gaeshi from Kim earned the first score of the contest. This seemed to drive Takeoka harder towards the top of the podium; his response was to accelerate and it was the right answer.
In a busy exchange he scored a waza-ari with sumi-gaeshi and transitioned perfectly into osaekomi. The contest was over and the world champion added a Paris Grand Slam gold to his growing collection of prizes.
The first of the two bronze medal contests saw Valerio Accogli (ITA) face Ruslan Pashayev (AZE). A close first two minutes offered no discerning gap that either judoka could utilise for the win. They each had a penalty morning into the second half of normal time. As the seconds ticked away, Pashayev found he’s rhythm more concretely and managed to log a yuko that proved to be decisive. AS the gong rang out, Pashayev could finally breathe a sigh of relief; the medal was his.
Kairi Kentoku (JPN) faced Daikii Bouba (FRA) for the second bronze medal. It was an intriguing clash of styles with Bouba engaging in close, powerful grappling techniques straight from ‘hajime,’ while Kentoku fought hard to protect the distance between them, knowing he could play in that space.
Kentoku’s plan was the more successful of the two; he looked after the space between them well, not allowing Bouba to close it down. This gave him the opportunity to attack in his preferred way and he scored twice, putting Bouba under pressure. Kentoku won the bronze medal with an intelligent strategy and a calm, composed manner.
Final (-66 kg)
Bronze Medal Fights (-66 kg)
