JUDO NEWS DAY 1: Judo Grand Slam, Tokyo 2013 [PLUS VIDEO FOOTAGE OF FINALS]

IJF News - November 29th, 2013

The Judo Grand Slam, Tokyo 2013, started with a scintillating day of judo at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium on Friday.

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Judo Grand Slam Tokyo 2013: Day 1 Final Block

Judo Grand Slam Tokyo 2013: Day 1

The opening day of the Tokyo spectacle crowned five gold medallists as the women’s -48kg, -52kg and -57kg categories and men’s -60kg and -66kg categories were all contested in front of a partisan Japanese crowd who witnessed a particularly memorable day.

Ahead of the final block, the focus was already on the tatami for the opening ceremony which started with a presentation of the flags all 46 participating countries. That was followed by a welcoming address by Mr. Shoji MUNEOKA, President of the Tokyo Grand Slam competition.

“I’m very pleased to welcome you all here to Japan," he said. "We have a great amount of pleasure in hosting this important event and thank you all for you participation and support.”

Mr. Jan SNIJDERS, IJF Head Refereeing Director, spoke on behalf of Mr. Marius VIZER, IJF President, who will be in attendance on Saturday and Sunday.

“Ladies and gentlemen, it gives me a lot of pleasure to be here for the final Grand Slam of the year. I wish everyone success in the competition in what is a very special place for our sport.”

After the first day of the competition, Japan are the runaway leaders as they once again illustrated their unrivalled depth by fielding four world-class judoka in every category. The hosts, who showcased their renowned ne-waza prowess to great effect, made a typically blistering start to the competition as they won all five gold medals as part of their ominous 12-medal haul on the opening day.

Japanese greats YAMASHITA Yasuhiro and HOSOKAWA Shinji, who both won gold at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games, were among the distinguished names in attendance.

FOLLOW THE COMPETITION

The draw can be seen at: http://www.ippon.org/gs_jpn2013.php
Live stream on Ippon TV: http://www.ippon.tv
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ijudo
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/IntJudoFed
Official event hash tag: #JudoTokyo2013
Instagram: http://instagram.com/judogallery
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/judo

WOMEN

-48kg: Japanese teenager humbles the reigning world champion

Former cadet world champion KONDO Ami (JPN) moved from being the future of Japanese judo to the present on Friday as she defeated world champion MUNKHBAT Urantsetseg (MGL) to win the first gold medal of the day. KONDO burst into action in the final as her willingness to go out and force the action against MUNKHBAT made light of her youth and the quality of her opponent. KONDO started Japan’s dominance by catching the Mongolian with a foot sweep after two minutes for ippon.

The Japanese ace won all four of her contests by ippon including her semi-final against the Olympic champion Sarah MENEZES (BRA) who was relentless pursued by the home judoka. The contested was decided when MENEZES attacked with a drop seoi-nage but KONDO countered and tried to apply shime-waza only to readjust and trap the Brazilian with a yoko-shiho-gatame which saw MENEZES concede the contest by submitting. In the second semi-final the world champion MUNKHBAT bested former Junior World Championships winner TODA Miri (JPN) with an osoto-gari earning ippon with 90 seconds remaining. The first bronze medal was won by two-time Asian Championships winner YAMAGISHI Emi (JPN) as compatriot TODA Miri (JPN) could not compete due to injury. The second bronze medal was won by Sarah MENEZES (BRA) as Almaty Grand Prix winner Kristina RUMYANTSEVA (RUS) sustained an injury in the previous repechage round and was unable to compete in the final block.

Final
KONDO, Ami (JPN) vs MUNKHBAT, Urantsetseg (MGL)

Bronze Medal Fights

YAMAGISHI, Emi (JPN) vs TODA, Miri (JPN)
RUMYANTSEVA, Kristina (RUS) vs MENEZES, Sarah (BRA)

Final Results

1. KONDO, Ami (JPN)
2. MUNKHBAT, Urantsetseg (MGL)
3. YAMAGISHI, Emi (JPN)
3. MENEZES, Sarah (BRA)
5. TODA, Miri (JPN)
5. RUMYANTSEVA, Kristina (RUS)
7. LABORDE, Maria Celia (CUB)
7. CHERNIAK, Maryna (UKR)

-52kg: HASHIMOTO Yuki wins final in 29 seconds

World Championships bronze medallist HASHIMOTO Yuki (JPN) had the edge over World Championships silver medallist Erika MIRANDA (BRA) in the -52kg final. Paris Grand Slam winner HASHIMOTO wasted no time in asserting herself in the contest and after 29 seconds she caught the accomplished Brazilian with an ouchi-gari for ippon.

HASHIMOTO booked her place in the final by defeating world number four Jaana SUNDBERG (FIN) in the semi-final. The Japanese fighter went ahead after 15 seconds with a waza-ari and sealed victory with a mune-gatame for wazari-awasette-ippon in a clinical performance. In the second semi-final MIRANDA reigned supreme against world number five Andreea CHITU (ROU). Both judoka were penalised with a shido for continually going out of the competition area in the opening minute and that established an event contest until the last 30 seconds when the Brazilian threw the Romanian with a koshi-guruma.

The first bronze medal was clinched by 19-year-old SHISHIME Ai (JPN) who defeated Moscow Grand Slam winner SUNDBERG. SHISHIME countered a tomoe-nage attempt with osaekomi-waza for a waza-ari score but the Finnish judoka replied with a yuko from a yoko-tomoe-nage. The Japanese judoka was penalised with a shido for passivity but there was no additional scores as she comfortably maintained her advantage. The second bronze medal was awarded to CHITU who conquered World Team Championships silver medallist Eleudis VALENTIM (BRA) with an ouchi-gari for ippon after two minutes of action.

Final
MIRANDA, Erika (BRA) vs HASHIMOTO, Yuki (JPN

Bronze Medal Fights
SHISHIME, Ai (JPN) vs SUNDBERG, Jaana (FIN)
VALENTIM, Eleudis (BRA) vs CHITU, Andreea (ROU)

Final Results

1. HASHIMOTO, Yuki (JPN)
2. MIRANDA, Erika (BRA)
3. SHISHIME, Ai (JPN)
3. CHITU, Andreea (ROU)
5. SUNDBERG, Jaana (FIN)
5. VALENTIM, Eleudis (BRA)
7. GOMI, Natsumi (JPN)
7. DELGADO, Angelica (USA)

-57kg: UDAKA defeats world and Olympic medallist to top the podium

Two-time Paris Grand Slam bronze medallist UDAKA Nae (JPN) pulled out a victory against World Championships bronze medallist Marti MALLOY (USA) in the -57kg final. Former World Judo Masters runner-up UDAKA received a shido after just 15 seconds for passivity but that was insignificant in the end as the popular American MALLOY was subdued by a thunderous ippon from an osoto-gari with 69 seconds remaining.

MALLOY sealed a spot in the final by defeating Japanese sensation DEGUCHI Christa (JPN) who had defeated world number two Miryam ROPER in the quarter-final. DEGUCHI held MALLOY down with a tate-shiho-gatame for 18 seconds as the London 2012 Olympic bronze medallist escaped two seconds before ippon would have been awarded. DEGUCHI received a shido for a false attack and MALLOY rolled the youngster over into a juji-gatame to win by ippon with three minutes left. The Japanese young gun left the tatami clutching her arm which left fans to speculate whether she would be able to return to fight in the bronze medal contest. The second semi-final was an all-Japanese affair as UDAKA bested reigning Tokyo Grand Slam winner YAMAMOTO Anzu (JPN) who had defeated world champion Rafaela SILVA (BRA) in the quarter-final. The well-matched teammates could only by separated by a single shido which was given to 19-year-old YAMAMOTO for a false attack with five seconds left in the contest.

The first bronze medal was won by World Teams Championships gold medallist YAMAMOTO who confidently defeated Beijing Olympic bronze medallist Ketleyn QUADROS (BRA). The teenager was penalised with a shido for passivity in the opening minute but from there on the contest was controlled by the bullish YAMAMOTO who drove QUADROS back as she received three shido penalties which separated the rivals after five minutes of action. The second bronze medal was won by Junior World Championships bronze medallist DEGUCHI Christa (JPN) who somehow conjured up the energy for one more magical display as she humbled world champion SILVA. The fearless hotshot, who had already faced Miryam ROPER and Marti MALLOY, was not going to be denied on home soil and showed no ill-effects from her previous content as she threw the world champion with a morote-seoi-nage for a yuko score. SILVA conceded a fourth shido with 90 seconds remaining as DEGUCHI capped the biggest day of her burgeoning career with a richly-deserved bronze medal.

Final
MALLOY, Marti (USA) vs UDAKA, Nae (JPN)

Bronze Medal Fights
QUADROS, Ketleyn (BRA) vs YAMAMOTO, Anzu (JPN)
DEGUCHI, Christa (JPN) vs SILVA, Rafaela (BRA)

Final Results

1. UDAKA, Nae (JPN)
2. MALLOY, Marti (USA)
3. YAMAMOTO, Anzu (JPN)
3. DEGUCHI, Christa (JPN)
5. QUADROS, Ketleyn (BRA)
5. SILVA, Rafaela (BRA)
7. ROPER, Miryam (GER)
7. CAPRIORIU, Corina (ROU)

MEN

-60kg: World champion TAKATO retains Tokyo Grand Slam title

Japan’s man of the moment TAKATO Naohisa (JPN) defeated World Championships bronze medallist KIM Won Jin (KOR) to be crowned Tokyo Grand Slam gold medallist for the second successive year. Both judoka were penalised with a shido for not taking a grip after 80 seconds and 20-year-old TAKATO gained the advantage when the Korean received a second shido for a false attack. With 45 seconds remaining TAKATO attempted a drop seoi-nage but KIM maintained his posture only for the Japanese superstar to lift him and roll through with a modified kata-guruma.

TAKATO was gifted a semi-final win by SMETOV Yeldos (KAZ) who received hansoku-make while at the same stage KIM defeated world silver medallist DASHDAVAA Amartuvshin (MGL) by scoring a yuko from a last-ditch ashi-waza attack with one second left. The first bronze medal was claimed by SHISHIME Toru (JPN) who survived a battle of attrition against DASHDAVAA in the first golden score contest of the competition. Both judoka received a shido for passivity and the Mongolian was swiftly penalised again for the same infringement. SHISHIME failed to capitalise on that slender advantage as he received a second shido for passivity to send the contest into golden score. After a momentary respite for the Mongolian the receive medical attention for a bloody nose, the contest resumed with golden score and 90 seconds later a winner emerged as DASHDAVAA received a shido for passivity. The second bronze medal went to FISU Universiade winner KIDO Shinji (JPN) as SMETOV could not compete due to injury.

Final
TAKATO, Naohisa (JPN) vs KIM Won Jin (KOR)

Bronze Medal Fights
SHISHIME, Toru (JPN) vs DASHDAVAA, Amartuvshin (MGL)
SMETOV, Yeldos (KAZ) vs KIDO Shinji (JPN)

Final Result

1. TAKATO, Naohisa (JPN)
2. KIM Won Jin (KOR)
3. SHISHIME, Toru (JPN)
3. KIDO Shinji (JPN)
5. DASHDAVAA, Amartuvshin (MGL)
5. SMETOV, Yeldos (KAZ)
7. HUANG, Sheng-Ting (TPE)
7. GANBAT, Boldbaatar (MGL)

-66kg: TAKAJO reigns as Japan win all five gold medals

World Judo Masters silver medallist TAKAJO Tomofumi (JPN) bested world number four Charles CHIBANA (BRA) in the -66kg final as the hosts’ grip of the competition was tightened even further. 21-year-old TAKAJO topped the medal podium after CHIBANA lost focus and was penalised with a shido for passivity after three minutes which was the difference at the end of the contest.

TAKAJO won his semi-final against Dimitri DRAGIN (FRA) on shido penalties as the European Championships bronze medallist received two for passivity while his opponent had an unblemished record. At the same stage CHIBANA held off world number three David LAROSE (FRA) with a yuko separating the rivals after five minutes of absorbing action.

The first bronze medal was won by LAROSE who narrowly defeated World Championships bronze medallist FUKUOKA Masaaki (JPN) to the frustration of the Japanese fans who were engrossed as the home fighter stalked LAROSE around the tatami in the closing moments. The Frenchman was first off the mark with a yuko from a sumi-gaeshi only to regress and receive a shido after three minutes for passivity. LAROSE wanted to slow the pace down but that worked against him as he received two further shido penalties in the last minute. FUKUOKA was bitterly unlucky as the desperate LAROSE just managed to avoid a fourth shido in the last 15 seconds. The second bronze medal contest also featured France against hosts Japan and it was the latter who triumphed as MIYAZAKI Ren (JPN) outgunned Dimitri DRAGIN (FRA) in a lung-busting contest which was settled in the third minute of golden score. Both judoka had a shido to their name for passivity after five minutes and so the contest went required golden score where MIYAZAKI prevailed after two further minutes of combat as a ko-uchi-gari earned him a waza-ari score.

Final
TAKAJO, Tomofumi (JPN) vs CHIBANA, Charles (BRA)

Bronze Medal Fights

MIYAZAKI, Ren (JPN) vs DRAGIN, Dimitri (FRA)
FUKUOKA, Masaaki (JPN) vs LAROSE, David (FRA)

Final Result

1. TAKAJO, Tomofumi (JPN)
2. CHIBANA, Charles (BRA)
3. LAROSE, David (FRA)
3. MIYAZAKI, Ren (JPN)
5. FUKUOKA, Masaaki (JPN)
5. DRAGIN, Dimitri (FRA)
7. MARUYAMA, Joshiro (JPN)
7. MUKANOV, Azamat (KAZ)