For the first 3 and a half minutes neither athlete could score but the relentless pace of Odgerel made it difficult for Masudi to find his footing. This forced him to take two penalties too; not a good position to be in. With 41 seconds to go, Odgerel ploughed a track under Masudi and threw with a rising seoi-otoshi, scoring a yuko.
For the first time in the contest, Masudi opened up and put almost unbearable pressure on the Mongolian. Perhaps if he had fought that way from the beginning, the result would have been different, but he left it too late and Odgerel rode the clock to the bell and the rostrum.
Karim Abdulaev (UAE) and Yudai Tanaka faced off in the second medal fight of the category but, to be honest, Tanaka gave his opponent no chance at all. He threw twice with a fast, circling uchi-mata. There was height and dynamism, an excellent and inescapable blend. Tanaka had his first grand slam medal labelled. It is likely to not be his last!
Ankhzaya Lavjargal (MGL), perhaps inspired watching Bold (MGL) take gold in the -63 kg category earlier, came out firing on all cylinders against Naguchev (UAE). He went for attack after attack and Naguchev struggled to get his own grips to settle. No score came though as Lavjargal lacked finesse with his finishes and so the contest continued. Needing to improve his precision, the Mongolian fighter picked up two penalties versus Naguchev’s one. Things began to look risky!
Lavjargal had a great attitude all day and that remained visible in the final block. He worked extremely hard and refused to let the crowd down. After almost two minutes of extra time, he finally forced a score to stick, countering a weak attack from Naguchev to win the medal.
Final (-73 kg)
Bronze Medal Fights (-73 kg)
