Wroblewska (POL), unseeded, was the judoka who came through pool B to meet the Croatian in the first semi-final. She had luck smiling on her today, 2 lucky wins and one by waza-ari in a very close contest saw her win from precarious positions in each round, with the potential for loss hanging over her throughout the day. Her mental readiness was put to the test and she mastered it, moving forward one step at a time. A loss against the Croatian world medallist dropped her into a bronze medal contest.
Wroblewska has never won a World Judo Tour medal, 2 grand prix 5th places remain her best results and she sits outside of Olympic qualification. A bronze medal here would be meaningful for the Polish judoka in many ways. Shooting her up the rankings, past her teammate, also not qualified, to within touching distance.
The number two seed, Taimazova (AIN), did herself a disservice today, leading by waza-ari in her first contest, against Olsen (DEN), she then earned herself 3 penalties, two for gripping infringements which were totally avoidable. Thee are harsh lessons but must be learned ahead of her Olympic Games.
Olsen went on to beat Carvalho (BRA) before losing the quarter-final to the explosive Brit, Yeats-Brown, a tani-otoshi being the winning throw.
Yeats-Brown’s place in the semi-final was not a big surprise as she placed 5th in Dushanbe last week too and was seeded 7th in Astana. Her opponent there was a surprise however. Tais Pina is still a junior; she took silver in her domestic European junior cup in March. She is pushing at the door though with a 5th place at the Paris Grand Slam this year and a medal in Antalya. She’s certainly one to now be aware of, no longer an underdog after her confirmation in Kazakhstan. She passed Liao (TPE), number 3 seed Pogacnik (SLO) and then Kim Polling, now competing for her new country, Italy.
Polling herself had a brilliant morning, throwing Eriksson (SWE) with a textbook uchi-mata ahead of a win against former teammate Jager (NED). The story of Polling’s move can be read here:
https://www.ijf.org/news/show/kim-polling-a-life-that-feels-unified
The first bronze medal contest featured Tokareva (KAZ) and Yeats-Brown (GBR). The fight didn't last long! In a flurry of footwork the Brit felt the timing and caught the Kazakh judoka for a clean ippon, much to her diappointment and that of the crowd. Yeats-Brown will slip back past Petersen Pollard (GBR) in the rankings, after the latter won bronze in Dushanbe last week to hold the lead temporarily.
The second bronze medal would be assigned to either Polling (ITA) or Wroblewska (POL). Poling, searching for a first result for Italy and Wroblewska looking for her first ever grand slam medal, the result was important to both compettiors. Polling was certainly leading throughout, vastly more expereinced, forcing Wroblewska to chase throughout. Two seoi-otoshi, both from some distance but with powerful momentum, gave Polling the win and her wish.
In the final the junior athlete put the pressure on from the very first second. She didn't wait long to convert it into gold, throwing Cvjetko for ippon with ura-nage. Cvjetko wanted gold, especially with her double world champion teammate absent but it wasn't to be. Tais Pina has blasted on to the senior scene while still a teenager and from now on she will be expected, no longer able to hide under the radar.
Final (-70 kg)
Bronze Medal Fights (-70 kg)
Final Results (-70 kg)
