“So many athletes presented remarkable performances today. With several tying it all together to demonstrate their talent, determination and technical mastery throughout the day. Dominic Ressel (GER) and Somon Makhmadbekov (TJK) are just two examples of this total package, both really impressive, one fighting for bronze and the other in his second final in as many tournaments.
Makhmadbek Makhmadbekov (AIN) was another dynamic athlete today, with an attacking attitude consistently applied through every contest. His will to win is clear and his aim is always to search for ippon. This attitude was clear with Olympic bronze medallist Sanne Van Dijke (NED) in the -70kg group, never wavering even when a score down. The Australian in the lighter women’s category of the day also had this powerful will and never-give-up attitude and she finished her day with a silver medal as her reward.
The Australian women had an excellent day overall. Haecker reacher her final, as mentioned, but Aoife Coughlan, at the higher weight, also gave a fantastic account of herself, applying a great combination of physical strength and fearlessness. It is great to see some consistency in the Australian team, undoubtedly a result of their excellent recent developments with a new national training centre and investment.
When athletes work hard to have good physical preparation, a strong mind and also an aptitude for the tactical side of judo, anything becomes possible and today has been very pleasing in this regard, so much so that we saw, even from the first and second rounds, spectacular ippon judo.
Some fights became exciting duels between athletes from different nations, with very different styles, and this brought intense rivalries for the spectators, very attractive contests that were easy to watch. One of my favourite athletes of the day fought against many different styles but always found a way to combat them. Dris (ALG) won two good battles in the early rounds, had a great attitude throughout and finished the day in 7th place. I think there is more to come from him as he has this whole package.
Some athletes have shown real progression compared with their last outings and that is good to see. The level is very high and it must be that way as way approach the Paris Olympic Games.
The Kazakh team can be proud of their performance. The brought relentless commitment and I'm sure that in future competitions the motivation will be doubled, on the back of having a grand slam at home.”
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