Horikawa Dominates, Awiti Alcaraz Surprises
There was no stopping current world champion Megumi Horikawa on her return to Tashkent. The Japanese judoka was impressive all day, winning all 5 of her contests with ippon scores, using a combination of beautiful throws and strong groundwork. This is her 4th grand slam gold medal and it puts her just ahead of fellow countrywoman Takaichi in the race for Olympic qualification.
Perhaps the biggest surprise of the day was her opponent in the final, Prisca Awiti Alcaraz (MEX), ranked 28th in the world. The Mexican judoka was on fire, throwing with a wide variety of techniques throughout the day. She defeated the dangerous Moraes (BRA) after going down a waza-ari, then the experienced Martin (USA) in the quarter-final and dominated grand slam veteran Leski (SLO) in the semi-final. Horikawa may have been a bridge too far, but nevertheless, Awiti Alcaraz will be delighted to claim her first ever grand slam medal after 13 attempts.
Yuldoshev, Matniyazova and Sobirov Take Uzbekistan into 2nd Place
Uzbekistan trailed several countries in the medal rankings after day 1 but the home team began to rectify that on day 2. In our preview, we noted the country’s firepower at -73kg, with Yuldoshev, Nomonov and Ahadov all seeded and aiming for the Olympic Games. In the end, only Yuldoshev made it onto the podium after passing every test thrown at him; he narrowly defeated Shamshayev (KAZ) in golden score in the final.
At -70kg, Gulnoza Matniyazova took her first World Judo Tour medal of 2023, with a well-deserved bronze, defeating Ukraine’s Chystiakova. Lastly, at -81kg Muso Sobirov and Sharofiddin Boltaboev, ranked 103 and 12 in the world respectively, had to face off to find out who would take home the second bronze medal of the day for the home country and it was Sobirov who shocked everyone by throwing Boltaboev for ippon in under 20 seconds. This was his first ever grand slam medal and only his second ever Tour medal, having taken a bronze in Tashkent way back in 2016.
First Grand Slam Gold for Powerful Polleres
Olympic silver medallist Michaela Polleres (AUT) continued her winning run following victory at the Masters in Jerusalem in December with an assured performance at -70kg. Once again, she defeated all of her opponents with positive scores but she was made to work hard in the final, where she faced current world champion Matic (CRO). Both players looked as sharp as ever in the preliminaries and produced some of the day’s best judo. The two were inseparable during normal time but in golden score, Polleres capitalised on a mistake from her opponent, throwing her from her knees to earn her 15th World Tour medal, but surprisingly her first grand slam gold.
Makhmadbekov has First World Tour Success at -81kg
The final of the -81kg category was a tense affair contested by World Tour veteran Attila Ungvari (HUN) and Olympic bronze medallist Shamil Borchashvili (AUT), with the Hungarian eventually winning out in golden score. Besides the final, there was notable bronze medal success for Somon Makhmadbekov (TJK) who took his first World Tour medal since moving up from -73kg in August last year, at the 5th time of asking.
Today he looked at home in his new weight category, taking a big win over Boltaboev in the quarter-final and defeating the younger Borchashvili sibling, Wachid, to secure the bronze, following a loss to Shamil in the semi-final. Makhmadbekov will be hoping that this medal will be the catalyst for further success and spur on his teammates on the final day, who will be looking to improve their country’s already excellent position in the medal rankings.
Who will come out on top among the heavyweights on the final day of competition in Tashkent? And which country will top the rankings when the final medals have been awarded? Don’t miss a single score! Watch all the contests at live.ijf.org.