It was fast and full of action but from the beginning it was clear that Nagayama was not prepared to leave with anything other than gold. Today was his day and he secured the victory with a massive sode-tsuri-komi-goshi and then a seoi-otoshi, each scoring waza-ari. Finally, Ryuju Nagayama had his title!
In the first bronze medal contest, a very close one, Michel Augusto (BRA) struggled to keep up with the pace and physicality of Yolk Kazirbyek (MGL). Both came close to scoring but neither could make their efforts stick, no scoreable landing in either direction. Augusto, just a little behind, had to bow out on penalties and the medal was duly assigned to Kazirbyek and Mongolia.
As the second bronze medal contest was announced in the arena, the spectators broke into song, proud of their athlete, Marton Andrasi (HUN) who had outdone himself to reach the final block. He faced Ayub Bliev (IJF), a fast and committed judoka who would not make it easy for Andrasi and his crowd. As the contest played out, Bliev grew stronger and stronger and eventually he held Andrasi for ippon. Despite his 5th place finish, he can be proud of a fantastic day. Bliev’s reward was the medal, his first at world level.
Final (-60 kg)
Bronze Medal Fights (-60 kg)
Final Results (-60 kg)
