“Firstly, I was surprised but also not so surprised by Jack Yonezuka (USA). He fought really amazingly well today. Somehow I expected it after his bronze last year and he is already competing on the World Judo Tour. He’s on fire here in Odivelas and we are seeing more tachi-waza than is often the case from him, such as his o-uchi-gari against Kihara (JPN) in the semi-final. We all know his ground work is world class but today he really raised his level on the standing side too.
The Japanese fighter was world cadet champion last year and was really good after yesterday’s Japanese domination, everyone was surprised by Kihara, not reaching the final but let’s remember he is a first year junior and like judoka from all countries he must amass the experience necessary to compete at the highest level. No doubt he will work to fix his mistakes immediately.
Almat (KAZ) was also very good in the men’s category today but lost against the current European -22 bronze medallist and last year’s continental champion Galandarzade. Like so many from Azerbaijan, he’s a real fighter and even when under pressure or down by penalties or scores, he still keeps coming.
I was expecting Veronica Toniolo to come through at -57 kg, a really amazing judoka, not just for her age but in comparison to all the others around her. She does so well regardless of the length of a contest too, fit and strong from the first minute to the last every single time. She is like an engine, tireless, doing the job always. It was an interesting final between her and Honda (JPN) but in the end all the experience the Italian has gained zig-zagging the border between juniors and seniors has really paid off.
Also at -57 kg, Comanche was very strong and the Finnish girls have a great account of themselves one placing 7th at -63 kg and Salonen placing 5th in the lower weight.
The semi-final between Kriza (HUN) and Takaki of Japan was really close and actually the bronze medal contest was not easy at all for Kriza after that. Simic (CRO) was a European medallist last year and this year repeated that feat, at the expense of the Croatian. It really does show consistency to medal at a major event two years in a row just as Galandarzade and Yonezuka have.
The -63 kg final between France and Japan was a clear illustration of the wider context around the world where these two nations battle it out again and again. The French athlete, the number one seed here, showed that she has both technical judo and tactical awareness and that made the difference when faced with the pressure of Japanese opposition.
Yesterday and today Japan brought both tachi-waza and ne-waza. They always go for the throw and stay positive in their contests. They look for big scores and we like to see this kind of judo.
There have not been so many penalties here, with juniors bringing less strategy and tactical planning than the seniors do, on the whole. There haven’t been many accumulation hansoku-make finishes. Sometimes we see even world and Olympic finals finished with a shido but the juniors try to throw, like the cadets, with perhaps more finesse. This really is the bridge between cadets and seniors.”