JudoCrazy E-Mag (December) | Page 92

Pool A: Van Tichelt (BEL)

World Champion An opened up the accounts by throwing Mohamad Kasem (SYR) with his trademark reverse seoi-nage for ippon. That brought him up against Dirk Van Tichelt (BEL) whom he tried to throw with a reverse seoi-nage as well but the experienced Belgian countered him in spectacular fashion to score waza-ari. Van Tichelt, who had earlier easily beaten Morad Zemouri (QAT) with an armlock then had to face Denis Iartcev (RUS). He threw the Russian with seoi-nage for waza-ari and then footswept him for yuko.

Pool B: Ono (JPN)

Ono is one of those players who strikes fear into the hearts of their opponents and this was obviously the case with Miguel Murillo (CRC) who received three shidos in under a minute. Not content to win on penalties, Ono footswept and then pinned him for ippon. Victor Scvortov (UAE) was a much tougher opponent. But that didn't stop Ono from throwing him with his trademark uchimata for ippon. Lasha Shavdatuashvili (GEO) was another tough cookie. Ono wasn't able to get the grip he needed to do uchimata so he threw him with koshi-guruma instead. It scored waza-ari and was enough to get him through.

Pool C: Orujov (AZE)

Orujov had a tough time against Didar Khamza (KAZ), and had to rely on penalties to get through his first bout. Against Jake Bensted (AUS), he won more decisively with juji-gatame for ippon. He also did well against Miklos Ungvari (HUN), countering the Hungarian's tomoe-nage attempt for waza-ari.

Pool D: Muki (ISR)

Muki, ever the big thrower, launched Draksic with a left hip throw for ippon. He used the same technique in his next match, against Igor Wandtke (GER) and got a waza-ari for it. Nick Delpopolo (USA) managed to block Muki from throwing with his favourite hip techniques but it didn't matter. The Israeli switch tact and threw Delpopolo with osoto-gari for a clean ippon.

Reperharge

Iartcev looked set to win after he countered Shavdatuashvili's sasae-tsuri-komi-ashi for yuko midway through the match. With smart tactical play, he could run down the clock. However, with less than 30 seconds left, Shavdatuashvili scored with osoto-gari for waza-ari and just seconds later, countered him for waza-ari-awasatte-ippon. It was a thrilling match until the very end. In contrast to the first repercharge match, the second one, between Ungvari and Delpopolo, was a very tactical one that was settled by a penalty in favour of the Hungarian. Not very exciting for the fans.

Semi-Final

Ono showed just how versatile he was by throwing Van Tichelt with yoko-tomoe-nage for waza-ari, followed by drop morote-seoi-nage for yuko, before ending it with another yoko-tomoe-nage for ippon. The other semi-final match, between Orujov and Muki, was a tactical one. With two minutes left in the match, and plenty of shidos on the scoreboard, Muki got footswept for yuko. With the match being as tactical as it was, there was no chance for Muki to even up the score.

Bronze

Shavdatuashvili looked like a man possessed as he attacked Muki non-stop and eventually caught him with a hugging kosoto for ippon. Ungvari is a good ground-fighter but that didn't deter Van Tichelt from taking the fight the ground and catching him with an armlock for ippon.

Day 3: Men's -73kg

The men's -73kg division promised to be an exciting one with 35 participants battling it out for the top spot. The favorites were plentiful but none more so than Shohei Ono (JPN), whom may describe as the "new Koga". But there were many others who were very capable, including An Changrim (KOR), Denis Iartcev (RUS), Lasha Shavdatuashvili (GEO), Rustam Orujov (AZE), Dex Elmont (NED), Sagi Muki (ISR) and Rok Draksic (SLO).