Polling knows she’s up against it, with her teammate Sanne Van Dijke currently holding position as number two in the world. Van Dijke is a shoe in for the Games but she’s not present in Antalya and Polling continues to push herself regardless. She lost her quarter-final though to unseeded Portugese judoka, Tais Pina who had also beaten 8th seed Matniyazova (UZB).
Pool B was dominated by Aoife Coughlan (AUS) while pool C was won by Olympic silver medallist Michaela Polleres (AUT). She threw Heonji Yu (KOR) twice and with ease and then beat Gercsak (HUN) and Scoccimarro (GER) by a waza-ari each. Strong throws and good management were her key advantages in Antalya.
Pool D looked to be going Tsunoda-Roustant’s (ESP) way until while leading by two penalties she got thrown for waza-ari by Taimazova (AIN) in golden score. Clearly frustrated, Ai Tsunoda Roustant had to regroup for a challenge in the repechage against the German world silver medallist. It took a lot of energy but that victory was hers, setting up a bronze medal contest against Coughlan who had been held down by Pina in their respective semi-final.
Both competitors fight with power, always hunting the throws but this time it was Tsunoda Roustant who took the win. It was won on penalties but the contest was dynamic throughout.
The other bronze medal contest was between Polling and Taimazova, the latter having lost her semi-final to Polleres by a waza-ari and then 3 penalties. Polling won her repechage contest convincingly.
However, the Dutchwoman was unable to compete and so the bronze went directly to Taimazova.
In the final, Polleres looked strong and more stable than her younger opponent throughout. She threw with a very low tani-otoshi against a high attack rate from the Portuguese and then countered a little later to complete the task. Polleres was excellent all day in Antalya and left the arena with the right reward.
Final (-70 kg)
Bronze Medal Fights (-70 kg)
Final Results (-70 kg)
