Muso Sobirov was the first of the two Uzbek judoka to compete for his place on the podium. He faced Gadzhimurad Omarov (UAE) but the latter was too strong for him. Omarov won the medal by registering a yuko and later a waza-ari on the scoreboard, always in charge of the kumi-kata even when it looked like Sobirov was attacking.
In the second bronze medal contest, Abylaikhan Zhubanazar (KAZ) and Sotaro Fujiwara (JPN) took to the tatami. Fujiwara has 5 grand slam golds and a world medal on his CV and he is not to be toyed with. However, as is always shown in judo, anything can happen. Fujiwara attempted a seoi-otoshi well inside the first minute but without the required kuzushi, and Zhubanazar was able to step round it and counter with tani-otoshi. The referee signalled a waza-ari had been scored and so the fight continued but with the Japanese judoka having to chase from behind. No matter what he tried, the Kazakh judoka had done what needed to be done, responding to Fujiwara’s mistake. Zhubanazar would be on the podium while Japan still did not have a medal from their men’s team.
Timur Arbuzov (IJF) and Arslonbek Tojiev (UZB) faced off in the final, with Uzbekistan still looking for a gold at this tournament. The search would have to coontinue though as Arbuzov, showing his skills in ne-waza and not just tachi-waza, earned the submission from Tojiev after he applied an inescapable shime-waza. This is Arbuzov’s second grand slam gold.
Final (-81 kg)
Bronze Medal Fights (-81 kg)
