154 men and 131 women from 52 nations competed at the start of the Judo Grand Slam in Paris. The tournament was opened by Marius Vizer, President of the IJF, and Stéphane Nomis, President of the French Federation. Here it goes to medal table.
The reigning world champion Natsumi Tsunoda from Japan defeated the Mongolian Bavuudorj Baasankhuu. A waza-ari early in the match, then a skillful hold near the end secured Tsunoda her first Paris Grand Slam title.
In the class up to 60kg, the Japanese Ryūju Nagayama triumphed in the final against his Korean opponent Jeon Seugbeom. A counterattack led to the waza-ari, which gave Nagayama his 8th Grand Slam title and his 2nd win in Paris. Alexandra Szentkiralyi, Hungarian government spokeswoman, presented the medals.
With the final up to 52 kg, the French audience had its first domestic winner: Amandine Buchard beat the Kosovar Distria Krasniqi after almost four minutes in the golden score. Her first Grand Slam title, the audience loved it. Her medal was presented to her by Max-Hervé George, a partner of the International Judo Federation.
In the weight class up to 66 kg, the Mongolian Yondonperenlei Basjuu won over the two-time Olympic champion and world number one An Ba-ul from Korea. He received his noble material from the founder of the fashion company Stefano Ricci.
In an all-Japanese final up to 57kg, Haruka Funakubo prevailed against her compatriot Momo Tamaoki. The medals were presented by Yavuz Yükselir.
The current world champion Lasha Shavdatuashvili from Georgia delivered a final worth seeing, who competed against Soichi Hashimoto from Japan. The decision for gold was made in the golden score, tactically the Georgian was the better fighter. Tennis legend and ambassador of the International Judo Federation Ion Tiriac presented the medals.
There was another Japanese final in the 63 kg category, in which judoka Nami Nabekura took Japan’s fourth gold of the day. The medal was presented to her by entrepreneur Leo Bahadourian.
55 judoka compete in Bercy for France, the host country can hope for a few medals.
