J1M -70kg
Florin Alexandru Bologa (ROU) is not a newcomer to the final block. The Paralympic champion is dominating this category and again he passed through the early rounds with relative ease. He arrived at the final to face Viktor Rudenko (NPA) who had fought his way through the bottom half of the draw.
The number two seed Assylan Nurdauletov (KAZ) had been beaten in his first contest by Marcos Dennis Blanco (VEN) and so it was Blanco who lost out to Rudenko in their semi-final.
Unfortunately the final could not be fought due to Viktor Rudenko being injured. Therefore, Florin Alexandru Bologa bowed to the referee to accept the gold medal.
GOLD - Florin Alexandru Bologa (ROU)
SILVER - Viktor Rudenko (NPA)
BRONZE - Marcos Dennis Blanco (VEN)
BRONZE - Artem Merkulov (NPA)
J2W -60 kg
This category was fought in the round robin format. Daria Stakanova didn’t drop a single point, not even a shido, on her way to gold; an impressive domination.
GOLD - Daria Stakanova (NPA)
SILVER - Gülhan Atasayar (TUR)
BRONZE - Marta Arce Payno (ESP)
J1M -81 kg
Top seed Danilo David Geronimo Silva (BRA) lived up to all expectations in the preliminary rounds using committed throws to eject all challengers from the route to gold. Shokhrukh Mamedov (UZB) followed a similar hierarchical pathway on the bottom half of the draw to join Geronimo Silva in the final.
This was a very close contest with different styles making it difficult for both athletes to impose themselves. It took until almost the last minute for Geronimo Silva to score, a yuko earned after a well timed tomoe-nage toppled Mamedov. However, the Uzbek judoka was not ready to accept defeat and in the dying seconds of the contest he threw for ippon leaving no doubt about who would have the gold medal placed around their neck.
GOLD - Shokhrukh Mamedov (UZB)
SILVER - Danilo David Geronimo Silva (BRA)
BRONZE - Magomedzakir Magomedov (NPA)
BRONZE - Aleksandr Zhuzhgov (NPA)
J1W -52 kg
Maria Manzanero Ruiz (ESP) had an outstanding morning session passing opponents from Kazakhstan and Brazil to reach the final. Beating the top seed in her opening contest gave her exactly the confidence she needed to make it to the final block.
Victoria Potapova (NPA) also had a strong morning but perhaps this was not unexpected. This experienced athlete was the number two seed and was aiming at capitalising on the top seed’s loss. However, Manzanero was determined to continue as she had begun and in a tight contest managed to register a single yuko that made all the difference.
GOLD - Maria Manzanero Ruiz (ESP)
SILVER - Victoria Potapova (NPA)
BRONZE - Alfiya Tlekkabyl (KAZ)
BRONZE - Inkar Bauyrzhan (KAZ)
J2M -70 kg
Despite a truly international entry, including competitors from Asia, Europe, and Pan-America, it was a Central-Asian derby in the final which excited the local fans. Sherzod Namozov (UZB) and Ibragim Nurmakhanuly (KAZ) against the expectations of the ranking. Top seed Sergio Ibanez Banon (ESP) and second seed Thiago Da Silva (BRA) both lost before the final. The former was able to compete for bronze but Da Silva finished his day only in seventh place; not his plan.
In the final current Paralympic champion Namozov attempted to use his traditionally successful tomoe-nage to disrupt his opponent. However, an error of positioning meant that his tokui-waza was his downfall today. Nurmakhanuly sunk into the attack and transitioned perfectly into an osaekomi position. He held Namozov for the full 20 seconds to earn the “ippon” call and the gold medal.
GOLD - Ibragim Nurmakhanuly (KAZ)
SILVER - Sherzod Namozov (UZB)
BRONZE - Iskander Uldanov (KAZ)
BRONZE - Sergio Ibanez Banon (ESP)
J2W -52 kg
Alesia Stepaniuk (NPA) respected the ranking perfectly by beginning the day as the top seed and finishing the day fighting for gold. Taking that final step should not have been easy though as Kokila (IND) has an ever-growing bank of experience on which to draw and she used it superbly to force her way past the second seed to make her way into the final.
In the final Stepaniuk left no doubt about her intentions! In the first exchange she hooked in with a powerful o-uchi-gari and put a waza-ari straight on the board. She added a yuko to her lead some 90 seconds later, leaving Kokila with too much work to do.
GOLD - Alesia Stepaniuk (NPA)
SILVER - Kokila (IND)
BRONZE - Zeynep Bozdemir (TUR)
BRONZE - Carmen Brussig (SUI)
J2M -81 kg
Donghoon Kim (KOR) held his nerve from the very first contest of this busy category, coming through the top half of the draw ahead of top seed Galymzhan Smagululy (KAZ) who lost his first contest to Shakhban Kurbanov (NPA). Kurbanov looked strong in the semi-final but Kim had solved the tactics perfectly and made his way to the category final.
For the gold medal contest, the best competitor from the bottom half of the draw, Bexultan Kulmurza (KAZ) walked into the arena to face Kim. The gripping battles was fierce from the beginning but IBSA world champion Kulmurza found his moment and scored a yuko to put space between them. This remained the only score of the contest and so the final gold of day one was duly assigned to Kulmurza.
GOLD - Bexultan Kulmurza (KAZ)
SILVER - Donghoon Kim (KOR)
BRONZE - Saado Abdurakhmanov (NPA)
BRONZE - Shakhban Kurbanov (NPA)
Day one has come to end already. It has been a perfect first day with organisational standards very high indeed. Keep your eyes peeled for more news from Astana on day two.
All photos courtesy of Nurgali Zhumagazy / IBSA Judo.