-60kg: The Fantastic 4th

Take Romain Valadier-Picard, a twenty-year-old Frenchman with a tonne of talent and plenty of future prospects. In the first round, his rival, the Kyrgyz Khanbolot Yrysbekov, was far inferior in theory but the Frenchman found himself with two shido and a totally unexpected golden score period. It was the first round; we were looking for a show and we found it before we even sat down. Valadier-Picard found ippon on the ground, which is his main weapon but he was warned. In the second round, the Dutchman Tornike Tsjakadoea, number ten in the ranking, was waiting. Since the Frenchman is in 23rd position, it was a good opportunity to compare.

This showdown also went to golden score but this time Valadier-Picard lost by hansoku-make. When comparing, we saw that the Dutchman was not superior and that the Frenchman had the initiative but in the jungle the danger comes from all four sides, above and below. Thus, as soon as we started, we had already searched and found, compared, and bought the first impressions, which were none other than the certainty that it would be a very long day and that nerves would be the judoka's main adversary.

There is more, much more. Yang Yung Wei was on his way to following in the footsteps of Valadier-Picard. In his first fight, the one from Taipei and first seeded, had a waza-ari scored against him by the British Samuel Hall and not even thirty seconds had passed. The difference between a promising youngster and a confirmed champion is in the level of reaction. It took Yang less than a minute to level the score. We had found an unexpected match because it was very close, so we compared the styles and the show was amazing. That is why there is nothing more complicated than the world championships. Yang won, the logical thing before the fight, but he was already warned.

There is one who did not read the warning messages and paid the highest price for it. The Georgian Lukhumi Chkhvimiani, candidate for the medals and ultra-favourite against the Israeli Yam Wolczak, was eliminated for trusting himself and Wolczak won for believing in his possibilities, for proposing a very serious fight, avoiding mistakes and for attacking. His ippon in golden score was the best example to illustrate that there is no small rival. That's the jungle, that's the world championships.

There is more, yes, yes. We have Simon Zulu (ZAM), from a country that has been working tirelessly for years to develop judo in all areas. When you work hard and well, the results end up coming. Zulu won his first two bouts against Ivorian Dauda Dabone and Turkmen Aybek Omirov, and he won with authority, scoring ippon, for the record. Zulu is one of those who had perfectly assimilated that the world championships are something else, like Wolczak. They faced each other in the third round, with victory for Wolczak, who in addition to offering an interesting judo, showed no emotions, was impressively cold-blooded.

If you still don't believe us, we throw in your face the confrontation between Jorre Vestraeten and Angelo Pantano, between the Belgian and number two in the ranking and the Italian at number twenty-seven. We looked for chances of victory for Pantano because the comparison favoured the Belgian but it was Pantano who withstood the downpour, put Verstraeten into a trap, a swampy area from which he could not escape. Pantano won by ippon and left behind the corpse of the medal contender.

Apart from Yang, the other great predators of the category remained to be seen in action, starting with the Olympic champion and three-time world champion, Naohisa Takato. The Japanese had two quiet rounds against the German Moritz Plafky and the Korean Jeon Seungbeom before facing another of the greats, the Spanish and two-time European champion, Francisco Garrigós. Takato won, because he is better, he won because of the hierarchy of the jungle, where Takato is the lion.

In the semi-finals, the Japanese faced Yang in a repeat of the Olympic final. It was the fight of the day. These two know each other well and both are precise in their movements, do not waste unnecessary energy, measure the time and control the rival. They are the best in the category and it shows but who is currently the better of the two? In Tokyo it was Takato but a year has passed. Perhaps because of his reputation or because he improves as the rounds go by, the fact is that Takato set the pace and two seconds from the end scored waza-ari. Two seconds from the end, as if Yang was a beginner, which shows the quality of the Japanese.

One of the great surprises responds to the name of Ariunbold Enkhtaivan. The surprise is because the Mongolian is already 26 years old and has not gone beyond the bronze medal at World Judo Tour events. In Tashkent he decided to push the limits of his ability and presented some spectacular judo. After getting rid of Pantano in the quarter-finals, Enkhtaivan went to the semi-finals to complete the second big surprise of the day, embodied by Dilshodbek Baratov. We already said that the danger is imminent and often unexpected. Baratov, number 58 in the ranking, played the host with bad intentions. Fighting at home in the most prestigious tournament, with the crowd cheering, with drums and trumpets, had a euphoric effect on Baratov, who became a rival of unknown ferocity. This time we had not looked for him but he found us, he put everyone in agreement on his ability. If we compare trajectories, Baratov was without a doubt the sensation of the day and he had the possibility of reaching the final.

Baratov started well, forcing two shido against Enkhtaivan, who seemed unaware that he was contesting a world semi-final. When he finally understood it, golden score was already there. Baratov's sin was to look for his rival's third shido instead of the ippon and when the jug goes to the source so much it ends up breaking. The lesson to be learned was not to miss opportunities that do not usually appear twice. When the Mongol was on the ropes, Baratov made a terrible mistake by diving and was penalised with hansoku-make. It was a real cold water shower for the public. Baratov had the face of disbelief and Enkhtaivan then realised that he had been saved by a miracle.

Kazakh Yeldos Smetov, former world champion, was against Baratov. A Kazakh and an Uzbek, neighbours, with the public divided, a stylish party, a fabulous atmosphere to settle the first bronze. At his best Smetov is a wonder. Baratov brought enthusiasm and resistance because technically he is inferior but mental strength can be what makes the difference. Not this time. Smetov hit waza-ari in golden score and took the second bronze medal for his country on the first day.

Yang was the clear favourite in the fight for the second bronze against Wolczak. Yang managed to knock the Israeli down and gave a ne-waza recital. He took him in his stride and built a beautiful offence to turn Wolczak around and pin him; a bronze-worthy move that proves those who don't like to work on the ground wrong.

Imagine the stress of Enkhtaivan in his first world final against the legend Takato. In these cases it is always said that there is nothing to lose and that you have to go all out so as not to regret it later. When the speaker also announces the arrival of the two judoka and lists Takato's achievements, anyone would get nervous. To finish, if Takato is in splendid form, there is not much to do and the Mongolian could do nothing, just enjoy a world final because many would have liked to be in his place. Waza-ari and ippon, a procedure for the Japanese!

As for Takato, with a fourth world title and Olympic gold, we realised that being able to admire his judo is a luxury and we hope that the Fantastic 4th will continue to compete for a long time.