In judo everything can happen, we all know that and we emphasise it as often as possible. Everything can change in a single second; a moment of inattention and a lot can change. This is undoubtedly what all of Abe's opponents said to themselves today, that anything is possible, but unfortunately for them, until the final, there was not much to be done against the Olympic champion. He appeared more than ever as the favourite to succeed himself this summer in Paris.
We shall not go too fast though, let's focus on Antalya first. From the morning, Hifumi Abe appeared in great shape and in full possession of his means, taking advantage of the slightest error from his opponents to throw them hard, quickly and broadly onto their backs with control. Perhaps the most dangerous and challenging contest for him was the semi-final against the Frenchman Walide Khyar, whose determination and fighting spirit we know. The first minutes of the match were what we expected from Khyar: offensive, always moving forward, pushing and seeking to destabilise. That plan did not last and it was mid-fight that the magician Abe fully committed to his first strong attack. A sode-tsuri-komi-goshi combined with a two-step o-soto-gari catapulted Walide Khyar into the air for a far-from-smooth landing on his back. The boss was indeed Abe.
Before that, the same fate happened to Narmandakh Bayanmunkh (UAE), with a first waza-ari, followed by a masterful ippon with seoi-otoshi; great art! Before that it was Abderrahmane Boushita (MAR) who suffered the Japanese law from ko-soto-gari, for the same conclusion, and in the first round it was Samuel Hall (GBR) who was sent back to the locker room via another seoi-otoshi. It should be noted that each of Abe's techniques could be elected as the best ippon of the tournament.
It remained to be seen who would face the -66 kg ogre. In Pool C, David Garcia Torne (ESP) was the favourite but he was eliminated in the quarter-final by Muhammed Demirel (TUR), much to the delight of the public. In Pool D, Mukhriddin Tilovov (UBZ) fell against Kubanychbek Aibek Uulu (KGZ), who himself failed against Nurali Emomali (TJK) who continued with his momentum to defeat the Turkish judoka. The poster for the final was therefore known. It would be Abe vs Emomali.
Imitating his sister once again, who had just won before him, Hifumi Abe did not give a chance to his valiant opponent. After being penalised with a shido, Abe closed the gap with Emomali, engaging his leg for a tremendous spinning o-uchi-gari that landed the Tajik judoka flat on his back for ippon. Today Hifumi was in incredible form and when he’s like that, nothing and no-one can stop him.
Tajikistan, a country preparing to host the first grand slam in its history in just a few weeks from now, did well by placing a second judoka in the final block. Obid Dzhebov (TJK) qualified to fight against Muhammed Demiral (TUR) in the first match for a bronze medal. It went quite fast. After a couple of attacks that proved to be dangerous, Muhammed Demiral was just coming out of an uchi-mata attempt and got caught with a counter-attack for a clear ippon. The bronze medal was for Obid Dzhebov.
The second contest for a bronze medal pitted two European judoka, David Garcia Torne (ESP) and Walide Khyar (FRA), against each other. What an explosive contest it was! The first waza-ari went to Garcia Torne with an acrobatic combination of o-uchi-gari and ko-soto-gari on the other side but the Spaniard did not get too much time to enjoy it as he was thrown for ippon a few seconds later. The bronze medal was for Walide Khyar.
Final (-66 kg)
Bronze Medal Fights (-66 kg)
