There is also the benefit that if one of the favourites fails, there is room for others. Abubakr Sherov (TJK) was the tournament's number one seed and until the quarter-finals, everything went perfectly for him. Then he met his compatriot Muhiddin Asadulloev (TJK), who was unimpressed and allowed himself to win before advancing to the final. Tajikistan is already sure that one more medal will stay at home. The question remained: what kind of medal?
Asadulloev was almost joined by another Tajik judoka, Behruzi Khojazoda. The latter was leading his semi-final with a strong waza-ari, when Erdenebayar Batzaya (MGL) fired twice to register two waza-ari scores and snatch the victory that was within Khojazoda's grasp, after a long a stressful golden score.
The final therefore pitted Muhiddin Asadulloev (TJK) against Erdenebayar Batzaya (MGL). It was time for the crowd to raise the sound level a notch as both judoka entered the arena. When Asadulloev scored a first yuko with a powerful ko-uchi-gari the public erupted but there was still a long way to go. Without watching, it was almost possible to follow every move of the judoka as thousands of spectators were vibrating in harmony with their champions. The end of the final was an example of good tactical management, Muhiddin Asadulloev increasing the distance when necessary, attacking at the right moment to block the possibility for his opponent to come back. A massive roar suddenly exploded and it was gold for Muhiddin Asadulloev and for Tajikistan, gold number two of the event, and the first of the day, maybe not the last.
Sometimes things are done well when it comes to ensuring a medal. This was once again the case for the host country, which qualified two of its athletes for the first bronze medal contest: Abubakr Sherov (TJK) and Behruzi Khojazoda (TJK). Sherov took a good option for the victory with a first waza-ari and was close to scoring again towards the end of the contest with a sumi-gaeshi. That's actually what he did with a second sumi-gaeshi attack for a second waza-ari, with only 4 seconds left on the clock, to secure the win. The bronze medal was for Abubakr Sherov (TJK).
The second contest for a bronze medal saw Benjamin Axus (FRA) and Khojiakbar Toshev (UZB) face off. The first yuko came from a sumi-gaeshi of Toshev’s, definitely a winning technique today. Toshev controlled the rest of the contest to win his first medal in a grand slam.
Final (-73 kg)
Bronze Medal Fights (-73 kg)
