As the first day of competition began in Astana, the same trend became visible. Aman Bakytzhan, competing at -60 kg, put the number one seed out in round two and from there he made his way to the semi-finals to meet his teammate, Talgat Orynbassar. Getting past Yang (TPE), formerly the world number one, and olympic and world medallist is not easy, regardless of the crowd’s support and the noted home ground advantage. Baktyzhan could therefore perhaps dream of a medal. However, Orynbassar had other ideas and threw him for ippon. There was still a Kazakh presence in the final.
There is a great legacy in Kazakhstan at -60 kg, spearheaded by Yeldos Smetov, the owner of 3 Olympic medals, the last of which being the gold in Paris. He continues to compete but not in Astana on this occasion. He has a great record at home as he became world champion here ten years ago and so the spectators are extremly engaged and suppportive of the lightweight category.
The other finalist was almost Kazakh too. Maghzan Shamshadin had a great run through the morning but was stopped just short of the final step by Iznaur Saaev (IJF). He eliminated Wang (CHN), Maziashvili (GEO) and Lee (KOR) en route, stopping the Kazakh onslaught. There is still the chance of 3 medals for the home team though, something the audience will be willingto happen; no doubt they will make themselves heard.
In the final, Talgat Orynbassar (KAZ) did everything he could to control the distance between him and Iznaur Saaev (IJF) and this was no easy task. At close or middle distance and with the run of play, Saaev is very dangerous indeed, happy to play at the hip or grapple for any pick-up. Orynbassar ensured he attacked well and often, avoiding any possibility of a penalty, an intelligent strategy.
Going into golden score, just a shido separated the judoka, one beside Saaev’a name on the scoreboard. After a minute of extra time, Saaev finally found a good distance but this attack was an ashi-waza, a stunning ko-uchi technique that brought a score and a gold medal. Despite Orynbassar’s disappointment, the crowd broke into rousing applause, enouraging their athlete to be proud of his day.
For the first bronze medal of the category Enzo Jean (FRA) was up against Magzhan Shamshadin and the crowd! It was an all-action contest right from the word go! Both attacked fast, both gripped effectively and both remained acutely aware of the other’s abilities but it was Shamshadin who took the win, much to the delight of the crowd. It was a counter-attack with just a minute to go in normal time.
Aman Bakytzhan took on Harim Lee for the second bronze medal. The judo fans on site leant him an extra portion of power and at the halfway point Bakytzhan dropped underneath Lee with a beautiful seoi-otoshi for a waza-ari, one Lee could not equalise.
Three out of the 4 -60 kg medals would be staying in Kazakhstan but the all-important gold would be travelling home with Saaev (IJF).
Final (-60 kg)
Bronze Medal Fights (-60 kg)
