On day two in Antalya staff and volunteers gathered to begin the IJF’s involvement, promoting the values of the #WhiteCard campaign, values closely linked with those of judo.
Using sport as a vehicle for building lives, rebuilding communities and encouraging a healthier, happier, more well connected society is exactly what the IJF stands for all over the world. In Antalya this has been illustrated repeatedly, from the inclusion in the the IDSDP to the acknowledgement of our friendship with Turkiye in their recovery from the earthquakes which shook the region only weeks ago.
The feeling of warmth enveloping the tournament in Turkiye is very real, inclusion permeating all areas. The audience in the arena is full of children waving flags and getting behind their host nation judoka. They’re loving the judo and the close proximity to the athletes, something which is unique to judo and plays a big role in inspiring the future generations.
The spectators have been treated to a fantastic level of judo throughout the day, seeing Casse and Mollaei twist themselves through extraordinary situations to win places in the -81kg final. They’ve witnessed incredible ne-waza, super-fast ashi-waza and an unbelievable range of scoring techniques in general.
The medal table is interesting, after a serious domination from France on day one. Day 2 has a more diverse distribution but with Brazil bolstering their second place after the gold from Quadros.
We must take our hat off to Antalya; this grand slam is proving to be explosive and entertaining while holding on to the values that are so dear to our whole judo family. One more day to go and quite frankly, we can’t wait!
For photos of Antalya and all IJF events, go to ijf.org/galleries