Izawa spared no energy ensuring the medal would be his. He employed his now expected ne-waza skills to hold Bonferroni for a full 20 seconds on the tatami to earn the medal in only half the allotted time. This is his first World Judo Tour medal but it is unlikely to be his last; the 20-year-old has shown exceptional composure at this grand prix.
The second bronze medal would go to Joji Togo, Izawa’s teammate, or Bernd Fasching (AUT) who received a huge cheer as he entered the arena. That cheer drove him forward and remained loud and happy throughout his contest. The loudest moment came as Togo turned in with a powerful sode-tsuri-komi-goshi but Fasching was ready for it and changed the balance pulling Togo backwards. He committed fully and forced a flat landing. It was ippon and the Austrian team could breathe a sigh of relief while celebrating a medal for their hero of the day. This is his first medal on the World Judo Tour; no better place to do it than at home.
The final was fought by two experienced judoka, Antonio Esposito (ITA), who had just watched his little brother win the -73 kg category, and Murodjon Yuldoshev (UZB) who won a bronze at the 2023 World Championships in Doha, but at -73 kg.
Neither judoka could afford to make a mistake, it was just too certain that the other would capitalise. A minute or so into golden score, Antonio Esposito made the decision to stop holding back, to go in for a big, direct and very skillful ko-uchi-gari. It was impeccable, scored ippon and sent a second Upper Austria Grand Prix gold medal to the Esposito household, to the Nippon Judo Club in Naples and to Italy.
Final (-81 kg)
Bronze Medal Fights (-81 kg)
