Okay, okay, this is something but surely the number two seeds have pulled their socks up and taken the baton? Actually, no! Only Guusje Steenhuis (NED) remained at the semi-final stage, the rest all taking umbrage and leaving with the number ones.
The good news is that after two medal-free days, two days without a representative even making it into the final block, the host nation is able to release a massive sigh of relief; Ozturk (TUR) reached a bronze medal contest at +78kg and Tataroglu also fought for a medal at +100kg. Turkiye can be especially proud of Kayra Sayit who threw and held the world number one in their quarter-final. She was visibly moved by her achievement, unable to hide her overwhelming emotion from the cameras. She did the same to Amarsaikhan (MGL) in the semi-final and became Turkiye’s only finalist of the event but what a way to close their home tournament.
It’s been a glorious 3 days of explosive contests. Before the final block of day 3, France could not be caught on the medal table of nations, with their 4 golds from day 1. Dicko was expected to add to the list but with Sayit finding her best level to date, that put paid to France’s hopes of a 5th.
This Antalya Grand Slam brought fascinating tactical golden score contests. There were massive throws from every category, whether it was Fara’s (AUT) 10 second obi-tori-gaeshi, Mollaei’s (AZE) de-ashi-harai or Buchard’s (FRA) kata-guruma, there was truly something for everyone. There was also excitement to be found in ne-waza, from Casse’s (BEL) knotted final exchange to Giles’ (GBR) trademark and more.
Now it’s time to breathe, a little over a month to go before the World Championships - Doha 2023. Final selections for the delegations, must be made. Final preparations are in okay for not just the teams but for the organisers too with our friends in Qatar doing everything in their power to deliver an event of the highest standards, across all sectors. The champions in Antalya have been decided and so now it’s time to find out who will top the world podium.
For photos of Antalya and all IJF events, go to ijf.org/galleries