What a final! The tension could be felt all around the arena as the two Englishmen strode on to the tatami. They know each other very well but also both have medals this year on the World Judo Tour, Levy a Paris Grand Slam bronze and Nairne the Upper Austria Grand Prix gold. The level was high!
Nairne began more confidently, looking unfazed by having to compete against a teammate. Levy attacked but Nairne avoided all efforts and his own attempts seemed closer to the mark. He turned in a couple of times but chose not to complete the techniques, knowing they weren’t quite right but at half-time, one stuck. It was a massive ippon-seoi-nage, one which caught Levy completely, carried on Nairne’s back until the tatami arrived. The referee called ippon but it was soon downgraded on review and replaced by a yuko.
It was an even fiercer battle after that point but Ethan Nairne stayed calm and strategic while Levy became increasingly rushed. The scoreline was unchanged at the bell and so Nairne was the new Commonwealth Games champion.
Bronze Medal Contest: Ben Moore (WAL) vs Joshua Green (NIR)
The contest began with a whole minute of dynamic ne-waza, Green rolling from one set-up to the next, from kansetsu-waza to shime-waza and back again. The second exchange followed suit as Moore attempted a second poorly prepared attack and Green followed him to the floor sharply. Moore escaped a second time but it was close.
Moore’s first shido arrived for non-combativity and was followed by another for a false attack. Green kept the pressure on and Moore was unable to find his rhythm at all. As the golden score period began, Green changed his entry and threw with a makikomi for a yuko. This is Northern Ireland’s first judo medal of this Games.
Bronze Medal Contest: Oliver Short (SCO) vs Faye Njie (GAM)
Much as Green dominated the first bronze medal contest on the floor, Oliver Short did the same in the second. Every exchange led him to find a new way to attack with a variety of turnovers and shime-waza on display. Njie was perhaps more active in tachi-waza but it was the ne-waza making the real difference.
By the third minute of golden score and with only a shido apiece on the scoreboard, Short began to find his rhythm in the standing segments, pushing Njie to accept a second penalty. The Gambian athlete is not without experience though and fully understood his risky position. As the fourth minute closed, Njie launched an osoto-gari attack that had not materialised before in the contest and it took hold. Short landed and the score was given; it was a medal for Gambia!
Medallists
GOLD Ethan Nairne (ENG)
SILVER Benjamin Levy (ENG)
BRONZE Joshua Green (NIR)
BRONZE Faye Njie (GAM)
-81 kg: Majeed Makes History for Malaysia
Final: Amir Daniel Bin Abdul Majeed (MAS) vs Timothy Meuwsen (RSA)
A fast-paced contest was exactly what the spectators inside the SEC Arena wanted and with Bin Abdul Majeed and Meuwsen they had it! Back and forth in both tachi-waza and ne-waza, the judoka gave everything they had to be champion.
No-one could guess which way the result would go, not until the very end. It had gone into golden score without anyone noticing, such was the energy of the contest. It was there that the Malaysian competitor spun under Meuwsen to earn his score, the first and only one of the contest.
This is Malaysia’s first ever judo gold at a Commonwealth Games and Bin Abdul Majeed’s reaction was to take his opponent by the hand and share the moment. It was a phenomenal moment of positivity and joy. Despite Meuwsen’s disappointment, having not won the gold, he graciously accepted the result and hugged his Malaysian friend. This is the judo family!
Bronze Medal Contest: Fernand Nkero (GAB) vs Odysseas Georgakis (CYP)
Georgakis, inspired by the 3 Cypriot medals on day one, arrived in the arena at the beginning of the morning session knowing anything was possible. He won his way through to the semi-final with grit and power but there he made a mistake and was thrown by Timothy Meuwsen (RSA).
He was confident facing Nkero and dominated the gripping from the outset. With a medal on the line, Georgakis was laser-focused on the job in hand and after only 90 seconds had elapsed he launched his opponent with a huge uchi-mata for ippon. This is Cyprus’ fourth judo medal of this Commonwealth Games.
Bronze Medal Contest: Harsh Tokas (IND) vs Keishin Ochi (AUS)
The Australian competitor had been technical and committed since the early rounds of the day. An unfortunate semi-final loss against Bin Abdul Majeed (MAS) dropped him into the bronze medal contest and Ochi decided a second loss was not on the cards.
Tokas’ fast and highly mobile style can be distracting for some but Ochi kept his guard up and worked methodically to find the right spaces in which to attack. One gave him the opening he needed to hook on with an osoto-gari that proved difficult to escape from. Keishin Ochi would be taking the bronze medal back to Australia.
Medallists
GOLD Amir Daniel Bin Abdul Majeed (MAS)
SILVER Timothy Meuwsen (RSA)
BRONZE Odysseas Georgakis (CYP)
BRONZE Keishin Ochi (AUS)
-90 kg: Remi Feuillet Has the Midas Touch in Glasgow
Final: Remi Feuillet (MRI) vs Guillaume Gaulin (CAN)
Double Olympian Feuillet has not yet won a medal at global or Games level but has a continental one and has amassed an immense amount of experience. Gaulin would have his work cut out to get past him.
Feuillet scored a yuko halfway through the contest, a seemingly small score but an important one. He held on to it despite every effort from the Canadian and as the buzzer sounded, he had done it; gold for Feuillet and Mauritius.
Bronze Medal Contest: Jamal Petgrave (ENG) vs Noah Walliss (NZL)
Petgrave opened the bidding confidently, throwing Walliss twice in the first two minutes of the contest. Walliss gave all he had to even up the scoreline but it was futile. Petgrave had the contest sewn up and left the arena as a Commonwealth medallist.
Bronze Medal Contest: Scott Cusack (SCO) vs Danny Vojnikovich (AUS)
Home nation athlete Scott Cusack produced one of the throws off the tournament when he unleashed an enormous tai-otoshi in his first contest. However, despite high hopes, the movement had caught him awkwardly, even though he was the protagonist, leaving him at less than 100% from that point on. An unexpected loss in the quarter-final was the result of that but a win in the repechage placed him in the final block.
Danny Vojnikovich had a great morning session too and won his way through to the final block to meet Cusack for what turned out to be a very close fight. The crowd cheered for their judoka loudly and Cusack absorbed it, staying focused and gripping well. As the final bell approached the Scotsman was up by two penalties to one, Vojnikovich beginning to make mistakes.
Those mistakes cost Vojnikovich in the end. He earned a third penalty with a false attack to send the medal to the host nation's treasury. Cusack, the son of two Commonwealth medallists, had made it a hat-trick for the family, both parents present in the SEC to witness it.
Medallists
GOLD Remi Feuillet (MRI)
SILVER Guillaume Gaulin (CAN)
BRONZE Jamal Petgrave (ENG)
BRONZE Scott Cusack (SCO)