Stump held Chikhelidze (GEO) for ippon, threw Gaitero Martin (ESP) for waza-ari and then controlled the contest until the latter earned three penalties, then dashed the hopes of the hosts by throwing Kuanov (KAZ) twice, using o-uchi-gari and uchi-mata beautifully.
Naguchev dispatched number two seed Jack Yonezuka (USA) with sode-guruma-jime before holding Batchaev (BEL) for ippon. He then destroyed the last hopes of the local spectators in this category by passing Abdurakhmanov (KAZ) in their quarter-final.
Their respective semi-finals followed the trend with Stump employing a committed sasae-tsuri-komi-ashi to win against Lavjargal (MGL) and Naguchev coming from a yuko down to throw Bakhbakhashvili (GEO) for ippon with uchi-mata-sukashi. The final was set, the result of which could not be guessed by anyone.
The first bronze medal contest featured Bakhbakhashvili (GEO) and Kuanov (KAZ), who was feeling the support from his crowd. They gave him all the extra power they could and it worked! Kuanov was first to attack in almost every exchange and eventually this forced Bakhbakhashvili to accept 3 penalties. Kuanov received a rousing cheer.
The second bronze medal would be going home with either Norbutaev (UZB) or Lavjargal (MGL). Lavjargal, with impeccable timing, threw his Uzbek opponent for ippon with a neat de-ashi-harai, almost too fast to be seen. The video replay caught it though and the Mongolian judoka could breathe a sigh of relief and prepare to climb on to the podium.
In the final, Naguchev attempted to lead by entering with a tentative uchi-mata, perhaps feeling for how strong the resistance might be. It was very strong indeed, Stump immediately taking an advantageous position on the ground. No score was achieved but Naguchev would have to up his game if he wanted to secure the all-important gold medal.
Stump never looked under pressure, the composure of a champion was obvious for all to see. With 30 seconds remaining, he set up an entry for his own uchi-mata and launched Naguchev for what everyone was sure would be ippon. Naguchev was able to scramble though and reduce the impact, taking the score down to yuko; that was how the scoreboard remained. Nils Stump had his 4th grand slam gold.
Final (-73 kg)
Bronze Medal Fights (-73 kg)
