One of the explanations for this unexpected fireworks display of results can be found in the composition of the teams which brought together many young athletes, for whom it was a first appearance on the international scene. This only made the tournament more exciting, since anything seemed possible.
The very first and biggest surprise of the day came from the non-qualification of Japan for the final, eliminated in the semi-final by a lively Brazil. The South American judoka had shown from the beginning of the competition that they were not there for nothing, eliminating successively Georgia, a team which is always scary, then Germany which had won its first round against a valiant Saudi Arabian team in the first round.
In the second part of the draw, we obviously expected the performance of team France, most of the time present on the podium, but they fell from the outset to Algeria, who exploded with joy as the result unfolded. The performance is notable. In the repechage, France was again defeated, this time by the Netherlands.
Algeria, having eliminated Morocco in the first round, then France, found themselves facing Uzbekistan in the semi-final. Although things were tight, it was ultimately the Uzbek athletes who outclassed their Algerian opponents to join Brazil in the final.
The poster for the final block was therefore quite original with a final between Brazil and Uzbekistan, while Germany faced Algeria and the Netherlands faced Japan to win the bronze medals. The first bronze medal was particularly disputed between Germany and Algeria. In the wake of their brilliant start, Algeria concluded with a place on the podium. In the second bronze medal contest, the suspense was quickly peeled away as Japan won with four clear victories. It was time for the final!
If the result remained uncertain for a while, eventually team Uzbekistan took the victory, 4:2, after an exciting match between the two best nations of the day.
This concludes the World Combat Games 2023, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It was definitely a very good event, that put the host country under the spotlights. Almost 80% of the contests were won with a positive score, with more than 40% ippon and only 12% of the contests went to golden score, demonstrating how intense and engaged the competition was.
Thank you Saudi Arabia, thank you to all the organisers and congratulations to all the participants!
FINAL RESULTS 1. Uzbekistan 2. Brazil 3. Algeria 3. Japan 5. Germany 5. Netherlands 7. Cuba 7. France