Thus, here in Dushanbe, she arrived as the number one seed, which is logical! It was a position that Lara Cvjetko maintained perfectly by qualifying for the final.
In the second part of the draw, we were expecting the grand return of the reigning world champion, Margaux Pinot (FRA), who hadn't been seen on the world tour since her victory in Abu Dhabi last year. Unfortunately for Pinot, her appearance was short-lived, as she was eliminated in the first round by Daria Anatonova (IJF) with a perfectly executed ko-uchi-gari. With the main competitor eliminated, a clear path opened up for Kelly Petersen Pollard (GBR), who cleverly took advantage of the situation to advance to the final and join Lara Cvjetko.
The final led to the first golden score of today's final block. Even if Cvjetko was dominating and was more powerful, she couldn't find a way to score. Neither was Kelly Petersen Pollard capable of putting her opponent off balance. Cvjetko had one shido and Petersen Pollard two at the beginning of the golden score period. With one left-handed, Cvjetko, and one right handed, Petersen Pollard, the judoka neutralised themselves completely. We had to wait until 8 minutes and 34 seconds of extra time to see the one big attack of the contest, the one that would change the course of it. It came from Lara Cvjetko with a powerful harai-goshi that eventually sent Petersen Pollard flat on her back. It was worth the wait. This is the first gold medal in a grand slam for Cvjetko.
China had two opportunities for bronze medals. In the first bronze medal contest, Dan Yu (CHN) faced Daria Antonova (IJF). After the first contact, Yu took the lead with a makikomi for waza-ari. This was enough for Dan Yu to win the bronze medal, her first medal at that level. This is also medal number three for the Chinese delegation, a very good overall result so far.
In the second bronze medal contest, Lu Liu (CHN) faced Katarzyna Sobierajska (POL). The contest was going straight to golden score with nothing but some penalties inscribed on the scoreboard, when with only two seconds left Sobierajska suddenly managed to counter Liu's attack. She had been trying for several minutes without success but did it at the right time to score a yuko that offered her her first bronze medal in a grand slam.
Final (-70 kg)
Bronze Medal Fights (-70 kg)
