Simin was the first to score after Savitskiy rolled off a seoi-otoshi attack and landed on his side. A yuko was the reward but it didn’t last long. Savitskiy punished a weaker seoi-otoshi attempt a minute later, countering with an uchi-mata from Simin’s knees. He then held to finish the contest. It was Anton Savytskiy’s first World Judo Tour gold medal, at the age of 29.
The second bronze medal contest was fought between Serbia’s Bojan Dosen and Japan’s Riku Hirami. One right-handed and one left-handed, it was a traditional battle for the sleeve. That battle meant both found it difficult to find their pace or preferred positioning and in the end, it all came down to penalties. Still an interesting contest but without a big finish. Hirami (JPN) could still be proud of his first IJF World Judo Tour medal.
Two great champions, who until recently fought at -90 kg, stepped into the arena to fight for gold, having dominated the incumbents throughout the day. Krisztian Toth (HUN) and Ivan Felipe Silva Morales (CUB).
Toth leads their -90 kg head-to-head tally, 2 wins to 1; could Silva Morales even things up in their new category? It took two minutes of extra time to find out and the answer was yes! Silva Morales won on penalties, being the more active of the two competitors. This is Toth’s first medal in his new category, Silva Morales’ first gold there too.
