The Spanish hangs the gold medal in -70 kg in the Junior Judo World Cup after defeating the Turkish Fidan Ogel
He won thanks to an ippon, after having obtained a waza-ari by executing a sode tsurikomi goshi
The Spanish judoka Ai Tsunoda Roustant was proclaimed this friday world champion for the third time in his career by beating the Turkish Fidan Ogel in the final in Guayaquil (Ecuador), where the Junior Judo World Cup is held from August 10 to 14. For Tsunoda Roustant, this is her second junior world title and she thus revalidates the one obtained last year in Olbia (Italy), where she emerged victorious after having also previously been world champion in cadets in Kazakhstan in 2019.
The 20-year-old Catalan judoka arrived at this World Cup in Ecuador with the label of great favorite after having also won the gold medal at the Mediterranean Games in July, and she did not disappoint by dominating the -70 kilos category. In the final, Tsunoda Roustant won the gold medal thanks to an ippon, after having obtained a waza-ari by executing a sode tsurikomi goshi (hip throw sleeve lift).
At the end of the fight, the double junior world champion stated that she had arrived in Guayaquil “quite nervous” because she wanted to repeat last year’s success, but “she knew that there were many people who were very strong.” “I think I’ve already entered this world. I’m already competing in senior and now it’s time to keep improving,” said Tsunoda Roustant. “I have done many competitions since Olbia, and I have seen that there are many things to correct, but also many things that are on the right track”; he added she.
In the same category of -70 kilos, the Cuban Idelannis Gómez won the bronze medal in a fierce fight with the German Sarah Mehlau in which there was a long tiebreaker that took eleven minutes until Gómez resolved it with a golden point .
The third day of the Junior Judo World Cup also defined the new champions in the men’s categories of -90 and -81 kilos, in which the Uzbek Jakhongir Mamatrakhimov and the Moldovan Mihail Latisev triumphed. Mamatrakhimov defeated the Hungarian Peter Safrany in the final, with an ippon achieved by catapulting him through the air with a koshi-waza and finishing his back on the ground, which deprived the Magyar of making a world double after having been the winner the year past the gold medal in Olbia. For his part, Latisev defeated Frenchman Arnaud Aregba in an open final, as the Frenchman took the lead by obtaining a waza-ari thanks to a notable ko uchi gake (minor inside hook), but the Moldovan turned the fight around with an o uchi gari (great mowing inside) very low.