We'll Always Have Paris

Just before the start of the final block of day two of the Paris Grand Slam 2022, a special ceremony took place on the stage. Mr Marius Vizer, IJF President, was joined by Mr Abdulaziz Albassam, President of the Saudi Judo Federation, to receive the Judo for Peace Award.

Men's -81kg: High-Flying Final

Tato Grigalashvili is a premature old man; so young and already so well known, that's what shows the talent. He has not yet won any major title, always staying at the gates, but having just turned 22, the Georgian has a lot of room for progression. He is a judo magician and in Paris he stood in the semi-finals as if he were preparing a coffee in the kitchen of his house. There the Georgian had his first great trial by fire. Sami Chouchi (BEL) has the misfortune of being a compatriot of Matthias Casse. As Casse is the world ranking leader and world champion, Chouchi has less space, but the Belgian usually seizes opportunities. For example, he won the Georgian Grand Slam last year and not just anyone does that, especially since he beat a good friend of his named Tato Grigalashvili. They know each other and like each other, which means a really tough fight, this time reaching the golden score with nerves on edge. Grigalashvili won, but the result could well have been different. In the final he faced Japan's Sotaro Fujiwara. Nothing is easy in this category and when it seems that the most complicated is passed, a new problem appears. 

It seemed that Grigalashivli had the initiative, until Fujiwara scored with ippon-seoi-nage. The Georgian responded immediately with his own waza-ari. The final was high-flying, a gem for judo lovers. Fujiwara concluded with a spectacular tani-otoshi prolonging the Japanese rule in Paris. There were already four gold medals and there was much still to see.

The battle for the bronzes reflected the density of this weight. The Israeli and world champion in 2019 Sagi Muki had to measure forces with Chouchi and the Uzbek Sharofiddin Boltaboev, black beast of some of the best, like Muki, faced the Canadian Francois Gauthier Drapeau. Everything was resolved in golden score. Chouchi finished with waza-ari first, confirming that if Casse isn't around, he usually answers with medals. Boltaboev also won shortly after. In total it was 15 minutes for two fights. Welcome to the –81kg universe. 

Women's -70kg: Pinot 2022

Paris was the date chosen by Barbara Matic to show signs of life. The Croatian dressed up to show off her red back patch that accredits her as world champion. There were only twenty registered judoka, but some were very dangerous, such as Yoko Ono, Assmaa Niang or Maria Portela. However, the real danger came from another place. Margaux Pinot had a bittersweet 2021 because she won the team Olympic gold, but lost the individual tournament in the first round. She was unable to show her best judo. It seems that the long break that she has been given since Tokyo has paid off. Pinot first destroyed the Cuban Idelannis Gómez Feria, to then do the same with the Japanese Yoko Ono. The 2022 version of the French one looks very good. In the semi-finals, she unhesitatingly eliminated the world champion Matic. Another judoka who jumped on the success train was Saki Niizoe. Ono is better known, but we must remember the devil and the details. Discreetly, without making much noise, the Japanese slipped into the final after defeating Prévot, Portela and Petersen. In the semi-finals, she benefited from the absence due to injury of the German Giovanna Scoccimarro. Sometimes this happens and she appeared against Pinot in the final. 

It was France against Japan, like the old good days. It was a very tense final, the judoka annulled each other and thus they reached the golden score period, where Pinot won with morote-seoi-nage. With gold and two wins against two Japanese on the same day, it’s a yes, the new Pinot really has something new! "My judo has been better today than all of last year. It is because I have fixed some other problems and have freed myself mentally. When the head is well, everything else falls into place," said Pinot. Barbara Matic won the bronze on the fast track against Britain's Kelly Petersen-Pollard and Ono also won in the absence of Scoccimarro.

Men's -90kg: Japanese Elvis

With Olympic champion Lasha Bekauri on holiday and world champion Nikoloz Sherazadishvili making his first steps into the top flight, a boss was wanted here, at least temporarily. There were plenty of candidates but none stood out above the rest. It was still early. Little by little the matter settled down and a neophyte and a veteran emerged. The Japanese Sanshiro Murao is becoming known but it is something recent. A world silver and a gold in a grand slam at the age of 21 sounds very good. The Azeri Mammadali Mehdiyev is like the legionnaires who conquered an empire with patience and sweat. He has been among the elite for a decade, not as a great favourite but you always have to count on him. In Paris he reached the final with the intention of stopping the feet of the young generation. This is how things were before the final. 

Murao won because he didn't wait, he didn't want to temporise, which is what Mehdiyev did. The Japanese, with that almost-toupee that gives him Elvis’ air, executed osoto-gari. That is another gold for Japan!

Davlat Bobonov produced an express ippon to win the bronze against Beka Gviniashvili and the Turkish judoka Mihael Zgank made the afternoon bitter for the Frenchman, Alexis Mathieu, with the second bronze.

Women's -78kg: Queen of Paris

This category was almost a carbon copy of the -70kg category. Neither the Japanese and Olympic champion, Shori Hamada nor the German and Olympic champion, Anna Maria Wagner travelled to Paris but there was the French Madeleine Malonga, former world champion, who last year lost the world and Olympic finals against Hamada and Wagner. They are the three best! In the absence of the first two, Malonga was the clear favourite, but it was also her first competition since the Olympics. She was unlucky or unable to find Korean Jeongyun Lee's weaknesses and went home as soon as she arrived. With Malonga out of action, a totally different tournament began. The most intelligent were the Japanese Mami Umeki and the French Audrey Tcheumeo. Umeki is the fourth leg of the chair, along with Wagner, Malonga and Hamada. Tcheumeo was Olympic runner-up in Rio. They know what it means to be on top. 

14 seconds later Tcheumeo was already ahead with sumi-gaeshi. Umeki hadn't quite woken up and when she did, it was already too late. The French athlete controlled the time and won. France 2, Japan 0 and fifth title in Paris for Tcheumeo.

The bronzes were for Malonga, who came from the playoffs and her executioner in the first round, Jeongyun Lee. They defeated Hyunji Yoon of Korea and Emma Reid of Great Britain.

Men's -100kg: Sir Yes Sir

There were the old acquaintances, the battle-hardened veterans and the newcomers. There were Toma Nikiforov, Michael Korrel and Peter Paltchik, to give three examples and there was Joris Agbégnénou and Nikoloz Sherazadishvili; a lot of muscle for a single gold medal. The old guard won, as if they wanted to claim something, a right to longevity and closed the door to the Japanese and French. The final was a match between two heavily scarred judoka, Belgian and professional soldier Toma Nikiforov and Israeli Peter Paltchik; a great looking final. 

It was immediately apparent that they respected each other. It was a tactical fight, a kumi-kata fight. The golden score period arrived with two shido for Paltchik and one for Nikiforov. Something exceptional happened though: a simultaneous attack and both thought they had won, but the Israeli used the head and neck to drive his attempt and was logically eliminated.  Muzaffarbek Turboyev had a good day. He first smashed Sherazadishvili in 30 seconds and then later won bronze by doing more or less the same thing with Dutch veteran Michael Korrel. The other bronze went to the Japanese Kentaro Iida, who defeated the Brazilian Rafael Buzacarini. 

Women's +78kg: Tomita versus France

This category was like the host of the party didn't want to feed his guests. France has a very strong heavyweight school. Four of them defended the national honour, including Romane Dicko, Olympic runner-up. With the Brazilian and top seed Beatriz Souza eliminated in her first match, between France and a gold medal only a Japanese, Wakaba Tomita, stood in the way but be careful because we said ‘Japanese.’

Dicko in a final is anything but absurd. She is the toughest opponent of the best heavyweight woman on the circuit, the Japanese Akira Sone. However, Tomita was not to be underestimated. That? Never! Now Dicko knows it, having conceded a beautiful ippon from Tomita. France 2, Japan 1.  Léa Fontaine and Julia Tolofua were the perfect squires for Romane Dicko. Tolofua won bronze against Turkey's Nihel Cheikh Rouhou. Fontaine lost to Korea's Hayum Kim, but fought for bronze in Paris for the second time in a row and she's still a junior. 

Men's +100kg: Mongolian Rocket

In Paris, the Japanese Kokoro Kageura is at home. He collapsed the Riner mountain here in 2020 and then won the world championship, to return now as a boss with command in place. The rival to beat was him. His problem is that he rested on his laurels and ended up losing in the semi-finals in an inglorious match. The details are sometimes found in oneself.

The final was unprecedented, without French or Japanese in the crowned category. It was as if the Mongolian Tsetsentsengel Odkhuu and the Azerbaijani Ushangi Kokauri had the wrong party, but no, it wasn't about that. They were consistent, they won their fights firmly and showed no weaknesses. 

Odkhuu launched like a rocket, moved with speed, which always annoys Kokauri and ended the party by strangling his opponent. It was a work of art worthy of gold.  Joseph Terhec and Guerman Andreev were the last representatives of a French contingent that lived up to expectations with a total of 11 medals. However, they couldn't catch more. Guerman stumbled because he ran into Kageura, who didn't like his elimination in the semi-final at all and wanted to make up for it. Terhec had to dance with the Korean Minjong Kim, who wasn't up for any jokes either. 

Conclusion 

The intra-story of this second and last day was the battle between France and Japan. There were three finals between these countries; all three in the women's categories. The other detail was the overwhelming Japanese presence on the podia. 

Paris is a huge party, a challenge for any athlete, a wall worth climbing. Paris is a temporary reference. Knowing that Paris is there, waiting, year after year, is the best therapy. It means knowing that, when everything goes wrong and as Rick told Ilsa, "we will always have Paris."