Final: Jurabek Eshpulatov (UZB) vs Artem Nikulin (RUS)
On paper this was Eshpulatov’s contest but the unseeded Russian judoka has proven all day that ranking is not always the decider.
Nikulin put Eshpulatov under pressure from the beginning and after less than 90 seconds of fighting time he attacked with a ko-soto-gake and turned it at the last moment to score a waza-ari. He then converted it to the full ippon via osaekomi. Both Nikulin and Eshpulatov delivered great performances in Guayaquil and can be proud of their new world championship medals.
After the final, Artem Nikulin said, “I haven't fully processed it yet! Maybe I'll realise what happened tomorrow, but right now I just feel pure joy. The winning move is my signature technique. I went in for it, saw it through to the end, executed the hold and it worked out.”
Bronze medal contest: Aslan Tuaev (RUS) vs Omar Akhundov (AZE)
Aslan Tuaev and Omar Akhundov are two judoka who hunt for the ippon win at all times. Neither will settle, neither will give up and this made for a dynamic contest.
Tuaev scored first, throwing for a waza-ari. Akhundov responded with two yuko scores before Tuaev found his way into a positive situation on the ground where he secured a hold for his second waza-ari. Aslan Tuaev is a new -90 kg cadet world bronze medallist.
Bronze medal contest: Matthew Molchanov (CAN) vs Nuraddin Aliyev (AZE)
Matthew Molchanov fought hard throughout the day, showing an excellent mix of skill, focus and judo intelligence. He opened this contest with the same attributes on show and threw for a yuko with o-uchi-gari straight away. A little while later he followed Aliyev to the floor and arm-locked him to claim the medal.
Final (-90 kg)
Bronze Medal Fights (-90 kg)
Final Results (-90 kg)
