“There have been some impressive fights today. Here there are many judoka looking for their last opportunity to earn points either for selection or for improved ranking. This brings tension but most are handling the pressure very well.
Our referees are already selected for the Games and we see confident and consistent refereeing from a team that has worked hard to improve, ensuring transparency, fairness and neutrality. These principles must also be observed by the judoka; all must apply the rules and pay particular attention to the false attack or real attack debate, always competing with the true spirit of judo.
In judo we always need to focus on an emphasis on throwing, without forgetting ne-waza techniques, of course. The lightweights brought all their speed to the contests and employed agility when standing and on the ground. Abdulaev (AIN) at -60 kg was aware of both the technical and tactical needs of his contests and kept the positivity going all the way to the gold medal. His attitude was a big part of why he could deliver such a strong performance.
At -52 kg Pimenta was very positive throughout showing a great level of kumi-kata and also the ability to attack in a variety of situations. She needs to work a little on the kake phases of her attacks but otherwise she was good to watch.
I saw some young challengers today who are looking to be on track for LA2028. Zhu (CHN) was on excellent form, still making a few mistakes which can be tidied in the event debrief to produce a quite rounded fighter in the months and years to come.
I was also aware of the coaches today and, without exception, here they have been exemplars of behaviour. The global education system, beginning with the IJF Academy, is playing a role in the consistently high standards seen on the World Judo Tour and now we can understand that dissemination by national federations is also beginning to happen.
Our replay technicians in the IJF IT team have been very efficient and so decision-making and reviews have not stood in the way of contest flow in Astana today, which is excellent at this stage of the cycle. The team work of supervisors and head referee director has also played a part in this and the distribution of the commission has ensured true neutrality throughout. When the whole team works as well as this, we can be sure that the Olympic Games will be in very safe hands.
I wish all competitors for the upcoming Olympic Games a healthy final preparation period. I should also thank the Kazakh federation, from organisers to volunteers, for all their diligence in ensuring the level of the final grand slam of qualification is what our judoka deserve."