BACK
TO MAIN PAGE 13th World
Tournament 17-19th November 2023, Tokyo, Japan BACK
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Firstly I was
extremely excited to be back in Japan is such an amazing place to visit and
also to see my fifth World Tournament. The event was also back at the iconic
Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium after the event four years ago was held at a less
central location due to preparations for the Olympics. Also, this is now the
second World Tournament since the new rules were put into play re pushing and
sweeps and I did feel there was much more consistency in scoring so this was an
improvement
DAY ONE
As per the last event all the top 32 seeds
were due to fight on day one plus a few additional preliminary fights.
Block A
Number one seed and home favourite Kaito
Nishimura (Japan) looked very relaxed and comfortable as he closed down space
and landed a number of low kicks and came close with jodan
mawashi geris before getting a decision against Tockar
(Australia). Cosentino (France) got a walk over re no show of his opponent and
Sato (Japan) had a battle with Draga (Hungary) that went into a second round
with the Japanese fighters fitness and landing low
kicks proving key as he took the decision.
Up next was the highly decorated Karpenko
(Russia) who dominated his fight against Soufi (Iran) and came close with
powerful ushiro geris and also ushiro
mawashi geris. The legendary Navarro (Spain) made short of an advancing Burford
(New Zealand) to get an ippon for a powerful chudan
mawashi geri and Kaga (Japan) defeated a strong Alrabiah (Kuwait) by decision and the tall slim Tikhonov
(Russia) gained a wazari for a sweep Behnam (Iran).
Another tall and slim fighter in Shcherbina
(Russia) worked non stop and was relentless as he
beat Daneris Junior (Australia) by decision and Stoimenov (Bulgaria) had a scrap with the much shorter
Buffaloe (USA) and landed two face punches face punches, after an even first
round and a draw the Bulgarians low kicks in second round as got decision but
the American fought very well. The block ended with the ominous Ekimov (Russia) who gained an easy win with first a punch
and then a sweep for wazari – ippon.
Block B
The giant Zagainov (Russia) who reached the
last eight four years ago and had a very successful interim period looked
awesome with a combination of power, speed and technique to get a decision and
credit to Manci (South Africa) for not going down. Yamagami
(Japan) looked very relaxed and gained wazaris for
two jodan mawashi against Mazurkiewicz (Poland).
Sypien (Poland) looked strong and fit as he used knees to the body well as he
got a decision against Kisholoya (India) and Tsaparin (Russia) was far too strong as he hunted down his
opponent on the tatami and got a decision against Wei (China)
Tokuda (Japan) looked classy with excellent
movement and came close with high kicks and was in total control as he got the
decision against Abaca (Argentina) and Ishizaki (Japan) advanced via a no show.
Kapanadze (Russia) pummelled his opponent Antar (Iran) and advanced by
decision, as did Iiduka (Japan) against Kolaja
(Poland) as Luzin (Russia) advanced by a no show.
Block C
Kovalenko (Russia) fought Demautis
(France) and after an even start an increase work rate from Kovalenko as the
round went on as the Russian looked superb, combining speed, power and movement
to overwhelm his opponent and get the decision. Okudera
(Japan) earned the decision over Reyes (Spain) and the huge Goryiushin
(Russia) overpowered a gallant Boreham (Australia) and gained the decision.
Bozek (Poland) caused the shock of the round as he earned a wazari
for a jodan hiza geri after twice coming close with the same technique,
against Kubo (Japan) and
Shimizu (Japan) earned a wazari for a
sweep against Mbizane (South Africa).
One of Europe’s star fighters up next in Tusseau (France) who did not disappoint and gained am ippon
for a powerful chudan mawashi geri
against Pan (China) and Yanisigawa (USA) advanced via
a disqualification of Al Bayati (Kuwait) after second face punch.
Taiga Nishimura (Japan) looked electric and
earned two wazari’s, both with Jodan mawashi geri against Hernandez (Colombia) and the huge 160kg, 6 foot 8 inch Nascimento (Brazil) stalked 72kg Demirci
(Turkey) as eventually the Brazilians size and power came into play re knocking
Demirci over and pushing off the tatami and earning the decision. Ryouji Ohata
then earned a decision over Sanchez (Guam) to end the block.
Block D
Veteran Arata (Japan) who is a slow starter
again looked off the pace made to go second round with Finca (South Africa),
before he had more success with low kicks then earned a wazari
for a sweep. Asl Homan (Iran) got the decision against Sturiale (Italy) after
scrappy fight and Kobayashi (Japan) was fortunate to get the quick decision as
Zhao (China) had looked sharp. Moreira (Brazil) had bad tempered fight with the
tall Milisevic (USA) and go through via a wazari for jodan mawashi geri. Fedoseev (Russia) looked relaxed and was in total
control and landed a jodan mawashi geri for wazari against Tembe
(South Africa)
Yamagawa (Japan) looked fast and strong and gained an
ippon for low powerful low kick against Rovira (Spain) and Glinsikh
(Russia) was made to work for decision and showed his fitter as he advanced
past Alrabieh (Kuwait). Okabe (Japan) looked strong
and moved well and gained a wazari for sweep against
Wolski (Poland) and next up was last events runner up and the awesome Yeremenko
(Russia) was in total control and looked imperious as got the decision after
coming close for wazari as Beltran (Boliva) did well
to hang on.
DAY TWO
Second Round
Block A
Nishimura (Japan) again looked impressive as
he easily advanced by decision over Choi (Korea) and Belov (Russia) earned an
ippon against Zushi (USA) with a body punch. Yurasov
(Russia) looked strong as he beat Gumede (South Africa) and Cosentino (France)
earned two quick wazaris for jodan
mawashi geri against Kedzierski (Poland) who never
settled. Sato (Japan) and Aksenenko (Russia) went to
a second round and gained a split decision to advance, and Karpenko (Russia)
again looked strong as he advanced against Durante (Uruguay) with a quick ippon
for a chudan hiza geri.
A very close fight saw Nagasawa (Japan) and
Ikeda (Brazil) have a real battle with very little between them as Nagasawa
came out on top by a decision and Navarro (Spain) earned a decision over the
strong Rashnoo (Germany). Kaga (Japan) had to
withdraw re injury so Jeanson (France) advanced, Tikhonov (Russia) earned wazaris for a chudan mawwashi geri and a sweep against
Mendbayer (Mongolia) and Pereira (Brazil) advanced
via a no show and Shcherbina (Russia) again looked fit as he defeated Barragan
(Spain) by decision.
Tanigawa (Japan) beat Stoimenov
(Bulgaria) by decision, Maskimowicz (Poland)
overpowered Barbosa (Brazil) and got the decision. Takagi (Japan) got a wazari for a jodan mawashi geri against Alaradi (Kuwait) and
Ekimov (Russia) continued to impress with a wazari for jodan mae geri and then a body punch
for a second wazari against Zhang (China)
Block B
Zagainov (Russia) again looked super
impressive and easily advanced against Grigorescu (Romania) and Blatry (France) used his knees to great effect against
Durmus (Turkey) to get a decision and the short but fast Rodrigues (Brazil)
looked sharp as he advanced past Tumelty (Australia). Yamagami
(Japan) looked impressive once again as he scored two wazaris
for jodan mae ger and then jodan mawashi geri against Bhuyian (Bangladesh).
Sypien (Poland) carried on with his same
effective high tempo pressing and knees to the body as he defeated Ardakani (Iran) by decision and Tsaparin
(Russia) again looked strong as he advanced by decision against Draga
(Hungary). Solovyev (Russia) was much smaller than Kondov
(USA) but outworked his opponent to get the decision and Tokuda (Japan) again
looked relaxed as he earned a decision against Kwala
(South Africa). Ishizaki (Japan) earned a decision against a busy De Freitas
(Australia) and Shaburov scored wazrai
ippon for body punches against Mayo (Philippines).
Reiji Ohata (Japan) against Ascenco (Brazil) was a very exciting fight as the Brazilian
scored a wazari for jodan
mawashi geri before Ohata then scored a wazari for jodan mawashi geri himself to take the fight to a second round where
Ohata got the decision. Kapanadze (Russia) gained an ippon for a brutal chudan mawashi geri against Wang
(China). A relatively big shock next as Mkhize (South Africa) landed a well timed a jodan hiza geri for wazari
against over Iiduka (Japan) who despite his best
efforts and pummelling the South African could not make up the wazari and exited.
Nakano (USA) scored a jodan
mawashi geri against Kim (Korea) and Vara (Spain)
defeated Cuadros (Bolivia) by decision as Visser (New Zealand) fought
brilliantly by taking the fight to Luzin (Russia), and not giving him any time
or space, Luzin’s work rate and crisper techniques earned him the decision but
a really good fight from the kiwi.
Block C
Kovalenko (Russia) took on the tall Carvalho
(Brazil) in what was a hard fight, and tough for the Brazilian to have such a
tough draw as he is one their top fighters, and the excellent Kovalenko kept
the pace up and got the decision. Mkhize (South Africa) got the decision
against Han (Korea) and Kostov (Bulgaria) looked sharp as he earned two wazaris for a sweep and a jodan
mawashi geri against Tharson
(India). Okudera (Japan) scored a wazari
for jodan mawashi geri
against Alduaj (Kuwait) and Goryushkon
earned a wazari for a sweep against Marinelli
(Belgium) and after a marathon fight Gama (Brazil) earned a third round split
3-2 decision over Kolaja (Poland).
Ogly (Russia) scored an ippon for low kick
against Mansour (Iran) and then another shock involving a home fighter as
Shimizu (Japan) was in control against Scarcella (USA) and en
route to get the decision before a late sweep from the American saw him
advance. Tusseau (France) continued his great form
against Ibanez (Chile) as he made it two ippons, both with a chudan mawashi geri and Artimiev (Russia) outworked and controlled the fight
against Cabezas (New Zealand) to advance by decision.
Mazabov (Russia) advanced past Yanigisawa
(USA) as the later was unable to fight following an injury, Taiga Nishimura
(Japan) scored another ippon for jodan mawashi geri for a wazari against David
(Hungary), Polyakov (Russia) fought a smart fight against a cumbersome
Nascimento (Brazil) who could not make his size advantage count and Polyakov
landed a number of strong low kicks that hurt the giant Brazilian and lead to a
decision for the Russian and Iwata (Japan) earned a decision against Lubanyana (South Africa)
Khamidullin (Russia) got the decision over
Nazar (Germany) and Ryouji Ohata (Japan) sowed good movement and technique
again as he was awarded the flags against Jelonek (Poland).
Block D
Arata (Japan) again laboured against Ibanez
(Uruguay) and was taken to a second round again before getting a wazari for a sweep and Olenikov
(Russia) despite his 130kg outworked Lakusic (Serbia)
and landed a number of strong low kicks to get the decision. Konda (France) got
a decision in the second round against Gomes (Brazil) after a messy fight, and
Asl Hosman (Iran) advanced re no show from Mezhenskiy
(Ukraine) which was a shame as the Ukrainian had a good route to the last day
and had looked strong on previous occasions.
Parkhomenko (Russia) had a late blast of
really high tempo as he battered Kobayashi (Japan) at the end of the round and
got the decision and Moreira (Brazil) earned the flags against Winiarski
(Poland) who had started brightly. Alloghoo (Canada)
who despite his small size moved well and had great speed as he moved around
and picked of Choo (Australia) to get the decision and Fedoseev (Russia) won
the fight easily by decision against Gang (Korea).
Yamagawa (Japan) looked strong and earned the
decision against Aksan (Turkey) as Silva (Brazil) earned a wazari
for a punch against Evagee (USA) and Kakatos (Australia) overpowered Gomes (Bangladesh) to get a
decision. Glinskikh (Russia) got a decision against
Sakata (Japan) of Shinseikai who had looked very
sharp with some great techniques.
Okabe (Japan) got the decision against Mayaba (South Africa) and Butko (Russia) pummelled
Tur-Ochir (Mongolia) to advance by decision and Struthers (New Zealand) by
decision against Tornai (Hungary) in a close fight. Yeremenko (Russia) ended
the round beating Mohammadi (Iran), who had looked one of the strongest
Iranians, by decision to advance but again Yeremenko looked imperious.
Third Round
Block A
Nishimura (Japan) bulldozed Belov (Russia)
with well timed low kicks and easily took the
decision. Cosentino (France) moved around well to avoid the power Yurasov
(Russia) and the fight went to a second round, but the Russian slowed up the
Frenchman with his power and advanced after a second round
decision after a spirited performance by the Frenchman.
Sato (Japan) took on Karpenko (Russia) in a
very entertaining fight with both fighters staying out of each
others range and Sato wary of Karpenko’s power, Karpenko landed an
illegal face punch that downed Sato but the round ended in a draw. The second
round followed the same pattern and was again a draw and the fight went to the
scales with there being just under the 10kg difference so another round was
fought. Sato (Japan) stepped up his work rate at the end and did just enough to
get the flags with a 3-1 majority that was harsh on Karpenko.
Navarro (Spain) and Nagasawa (Japan) had a
real battle with two very strong and well matched
fighters, Nagasawa concentrated on low kicks with Navarro coming back with
combinations, and focusing more on punches. There was nothing between them in
the first round and it went to a second. The pattern from the first round
continued and there was nothing between the fighters and then Navarro gained
three warnings including controversial final one to get a very controversial genten ichi that lead to him
losing in a decision the crowd made clear they were not happy with. This meant
that the potential star line up on the final day of Karpenko versus Navarro
never happened and given their ages it is unlikely we will see them in the
World Tournament again and both can feel a little unlucky with both their
respective draws and decisions.
Tikhonov (Russia) made short work of Jeanson
(France) and got an ippon for jodan hiza geri and Pereira (Brazil)
and Shcherbina (Russia) had a close fight and it with the Russian getting two
flags, the referee gave the fight to the Russian also which was unfortunate for
the Brazilian who did enough for an extension.
Stoimenov (Bulgaria) and Tanigawa (Japan) went to a
second round after the taller Bulgarian used low kicks well, but in the second
round Tanigawa was fitter and pressed and gained all the flags to advance 5-0. Ekimov (Russia) dwarfed Takagi (Japan) who stayed out of
range with Ekimov closing the distance and getting in
a flurry of techniques when close and some big mae
geris from distance as Takagi moved well to stay out of range and hit back with
combinations, another decision which was a bit harsh on the Japanese fighter as
this was given after one round to Ekimov despite not
much happening in the fight.
Block B
Zagainov (Russia) took on the Blatry (France) who did really well to hang in there and
come back with combinations of his own, but had no answer when late on in the
round Zagainov stepped up his work rate and hit Blatry
with strong combinations to get the decision. Yamagami
(Japan) versus Rodrigues (Japan) was a very technical fight between to small
but sharp fighters, both came close with high kicks but Yamagami
was always in control and advanced by decision.
Sypien (Poland) took on the strong Tsaparin (Russia) next where the two fighters ponded each
other, Sypien hit Tsaparin with a good back kick and
his late surge of punches and hiza geri chudan combinations to the
body earned him the decision. Tokuda (Japan) who had fought very well so far
and showed excellent movement fought the wrong fight against Solovyev (Russia),
rather than move around and pick of his opponent he tried to stand to toe to
with the smaller Russian who outworked him and earned two flags plus the
referee to advance.
Ishizaki (Japan) took on the strong Shaburov (Russia) who at times overpowered his opponent
earning the Russian all the flags. Kapanadze (Russia) took on Reiji Ohata
(Japan) next and used powerful punch and low kick and chudan
mawashi geri combinations, Kapanadze stormed Ohata at
the end with a blitz of punches to take the decision.
Nakano (USA) versus Mkhize (South Africa) was
a scrappy fight and stopped after Nakano came of the matt, on resumption Nakano
just about did enough to get the judges flags to advance, another scrappy fight
to end the block as Vara (Spain) was penalised for holding and received a Genten Ichi and then a Genten ni for a disqualification against Luzin (Russia).
Block C
Kovalenko (Russia) took on Mkhize (South
Africa) next and Mkhize started brightly and used mae
geris effectively to keep the Russian at distance, but as we had seen
previously Kovalenko stepped up the pace later in the round and deservedly got
the decision. Kostov (Bulgaria) versus Okudera
(Japan) was another technical fight, Kostov moved well and came close with high
kicks on a number of occasions and this helped sway the judges as he got three
flags to advance.
Goryuishkin (Russia) was too big and strong for Gama
(Brazil) and knocked him off balance and scored two sweeps for wazari to advance, Ogly (Russia)
used his low kicks to good affect to slow down
Scarcella (USA) and then scored with a sweep for a wazari
which took him to the final day.
Tusseau (France) fought the much smaller lightweight
Artimiev (Russia) and fought a very clever tactical
fight as he closed down the space and bullied his opponent and hit him with a
number of strong techniques which clearly hurt the Russian and got the decision
for Tusseau. Taiga Nishimura moved well and looked
dangerous with high kicks as he continued to impress as he got the decision
against Mazabov (Russia).
Polyakov (Russia) and Iwata (Japan) was a
very even fight and as the fight wore on Polyakov showed more aggression that
got him the decision. Ryouta Arata (Japan) and Khamidulin (Russia) was a
another very even Japan versus Russia battle and the fight was given a draw and
went to an extension, in the second round Ohata landed a jodan
mawashi geri for a wazari
that saw him go through.
Block D
Arata (Japan) took on Olenikov
(Russia) and despite the Russian being 30kg heavier he outworked Arata in the
first round but it was not enough to get the decision. In the second round they
fought to a stand still with Arata concentrating on
inside low kicks and Olenikov using punch and low
kicks combinations, the fight weight to the scales with Arata despite being
nearly 100kg he went through on the 10kg plus weight difference rule. Asl
Hosman (Iran) was much stronger than Konda (France) who had a tough first fight
and the Iranian advanced by decision.
Moriera (Brazil) looked strong as he took on
Parkhomenko (Russia) who started brightly but the Brazilian used his size well
and show great fitness to keep up the pressure and get the decision. Fedoseev
(Russia) stalked the much smaller Alloghoo (Canada)
round the tatami who had no answer despite his good movement and the Russian
got the decision.
The powerful Okabe (Japan) stayed in range of
the tall Butko (Russia) and landed a crisp low kick that downed the Russian and
Yeremenko (Russia) ended the day with a complete domination of Struthers (New
Zealand) to get the decision.
FINAL DAY
As always the final
day starts with a 3 minute round followed by 2 minute extensions and there was
huge anticipation and excitement for the culmination of the tournament that
always had so many highlights and this event did not disappoint once again. In
terms of numbers there are 16 Russian fighters on the last day, 11 from Japan,
plus one from Bulgaria, Brazil, Iran, Poland and USA.
Last 32
Block A
Nishimura (Japan) fought intelligently
against the powerful Yurasov (Russia) as he moved around and picked the Russian
off with some very heavy low kicks, for a 110k fighter Nishimura was very light
on his feet, quick and had excellent high kicks to go to with his powerful low
kicks and deservedly got the decision.
Sato (Japan) moved around well to avoid the
powerful low kicks of Nagasawa (Japan) as Nagasawa stalked his opponent and
closed the gap well, Nagasawa was in total control then Sato landed a well timed jodan mae geri to get a wzari and advance to the last 16.
Tikhonov (Russia) and Shcherbina (Russia) was
a close fight, Tikhonov moved round well and used mae
geris from distance with his long legs then used knees effectively when in
close, Shcherbina tried to cut the distance but struggled to do this and
Tikhonov got the flags.
Ekimov (Russia) had a big size advantage over
Tanigawa (Japan) who never backed down and kept countering with punch and low
kicks combinations and did well to avoid the hiza
geris from Ekimov and Tanigawa showed great spirit in
continuously coming back despite being hit with big shots, Ekimov
got all the flags after one round which I thought was maybe a bit harsh on the
Japanese fighter who deserved and extension.
Block B
Zagainov (Russia) dwarfed Yamagami
(Japan) and also had excellent movement as he landed some huge knees and low
kicks, Yamagimi moved well to evade the onslaught but
Zagainov was relentless and landed two powerful ushiro
geris that Yamagami did well to stay up from, and
again the Japanese fighter showed great spirit but it was a convincing win for
Zagainov who advanced.
Sypien (Poland) again fought intelligently
against Solovyev (Russia) who despite being 20kg plus lighter went toe to toe
with the Pole that paid dividend at the start and landed a lot of good shots,
as the fight went on Sypien stepped up the tempo again and used his extra
strength effectively as he pushed forward with punches and knees to the body
and earned the decision.
Next up was two fights that really suffered
from bad decisions, Kapanadze (Russia) dished out a lot of punishment to Shaburov (Russia) with strong punches and low kicks that
nearly downed Shaburov, then out of nowhere and
despite being on top Kapanadze received three warnings in quick succession
ending in a genten ichi and
an undeserved loss.
Luzin (Russia) and Nakano (USA) had the same
judges in the next fight, Luzin was taller, stronger and on top and received
two warnings for almost nothing, before Nakano fell back of the stage and got
injured and there was a break. Luzin then fought very smartly for the last part
of the fight when it resumed and held his arms up in the air to be so careful
not get another warning and a genten ichi which would see him exit and held on and got a
deserved decision.
Block C
Kovalenko (Russia) and Kostov (Bulgaria) saw
two fighters with excellent movement, Kostov moved back and around to stay out
of the Russians way and came close twice with jodan
mawashi geris, as the fight wore on Kovalenko caught Kostov with some good low
kicks which slowed him down and Kovalenko then got a wazari
for a sweep as Kostov through another high kick and advanced.
Goryuishkin (Russia) and Ogly
(Russia) saw two 100kg fighters tear it up in a scrappy fight that saw Goryuishkin get the decision.
Tusseau (France) got in close and cut the space
against the dangerous Taiga Nishimura (Japan) and used hook punches well and
then landed a brilliant mae geri
that Nishimiura was not expecting and downed him for
an ippon, Tusseau’s third ippon of the event.
Polyakov (Russia) and Ryouhi
Ohata (Japan) were very well matched and it was an extremely close match with
both fighters moving well and trading techniques, at the end of the first round
it was 2-0 to Polyakov on the flags and the referee awarded a draw so on the an extension. The extension continued much in the same
way with both fighters moving in and out but Polyakov gradually got on top and
this time with it being 2-0 on the flags the referee gave it to the Russian
Block D
Arata (Japan) and Asl Homan (Iran) had a
scrappy fight, the Iranian concentrated on punches, with Arata focusing on low
kicks. Normally on the final day of the World Tournament Arata steps up his
level of performance and surges to the last day, but there was no evidence of
this and in the second round this fight was even, and when two judges gave this
fight to Arata plus the referee the crowd erupted in dissatisfaction at the
result.
Fedoseev (Russia) landed a perfect sweep and
follow up combination against Moreira (Brazil) early on and then was in total
control as the Brazilian despite his best efforts did not come close to getting
a wazari back.
Yamagawa (Japan) and Glinskikh
(Russia) fought at close quarters with neither backing down and a high volume
of techniques from both bit with the Russian the busier. A draw was rightly
called where the Russian was again on top despite a surge from Yamagawa the flags went to 2-0 to Glinskikh
and the referee awarded the fight to the Russian.
Yeremenko (Russia) stalked Okabe (Japan) and
was busier and landed the better techniques against Okabe, the more the fight
went on the more Yeremenko looked in control with a high volume of techniques
and effective blocking and evading, the judges gave the flags 3-0 to advance.
Last 16
Nishimura (Japan) was bigger, stronger and
fresher than Sato (Japan) and dominated the fight and hurt Sato who tried to
get a wazari but Nishimura low kicks proved the
difference and was a very convincing winner.
Ekimov (Russia) was clearly the powerhouse in his
fight Tikhonov (Russia) who tried to stay out of the range of Ekimov’s knees and power punches, Ekimov
was on top but a harsh genten ichi
for Tikhonov that stopped the extension and sent Ekimov
through
Zagainov (Russia) continued to look awesome
in his fight with the unbreakable Sypien (Poland), Sypien stalked his larger
opponent but Zagainov moved well in and out and landed powerful knees, and low
kicks. Sypien struggled to get the right range and was either too far or
getting hit with a Zagainov knees, a late surge from Zagainov of punches and
huge knees confirmed the anticipated result of a unanimous win for the very
impressive Russian.
Luzin (Russia) looked much fresher than Shaburov (Russia) who tired as the fight went on with the
super fit Luzin getting on top and Shaburov
struggling to take the low kicks as the round went on and Luzin was gained the
decision.
The huge Goryushkin
(Russia) stalked Kovalenko (Russia) who was the hunted for once, but Kovalenko
had great movement to move around and land punch combinations and low kicks as Goryuishkin focused on punches and knees. Kovalenko landed
a face punch on Goryushkin and the fight was stopped
for a period. On the resumption there was a late burst from both fighters but
it was clearly a draw which was what the judges awarded. In the extension Goryushkin tired and Kovalenko gradually got on top and at
the end of the round got decision.
Tusseau (France) was relentless against Polyakov
(Russia) as he pushed forward with short punches and non stop knees to the body to push the Russian back
and came close with a jodan hiza
geri, to his credit Polyakov kept coming back at the
Frenchman and was possibly a little unlucky it was 3-0 in the flags to Tusseau but the Frenchman was the fitter, stronger and more
dangerous and it was great to have a European in the last eight.
Arata (Japan) had his best match so far with
Polyakov (Russia) and looked at his fittest and most dangerous as he used low
kicks well to rock the Russian, however as per the previous round Fedoseev
landed the perfect sweep and follow up to gain a wazari
and seal his place in the top eight.
Yeremenko (Russia) continued to look like a
Rolls Royce of a fighter as he dominated Glinskikh
(Russia) and used an elbow to the body extremely effectively and gained a
deserved unanimous decision.
Quarter Finals
Nishimura (Japan) faced a huge test as he
took on the ominous Ekimov (Russia) and was rocked by
the power of the Russians punches, knees and low kicks but hung in there well
and came back with his own punch and strong low kick combinations. Ekimov then almost landed a mae geri jodan that Nishmura seemed to block and fall into Ekimov
and take him to the ground to avoid the wazari. As
the round went on Nishimura’s low kick became the big factor in the fight as Ekimov suddenly slowed down dramatically, and appeared hurt
and Nishimura then used knees to the body to great effect too and his powerful low
kicks. Nishimura then got three flags to advance, and maybe an extension could
have taken place but Nishimura was definitely on top and looked fitter and
stronger at end deserved to go through.
Zagainov (Russia) and Luzin (Russia) had an
absolute war in the next quarter final, Zagainov who again being the larger
fighter moved around as Luzin stalked him and there was nothing in the first
round as a draw was awarded. The second round was much the same as Zagainov
tried to land a knock out technique and this time the flags where 1-0 to
Zagainov so another extension. In the third extension Luzin got on top as
Zagainov tired with his extra weight and size and Luzin advanced the last four
as he did four years ago.
Kovalenko (Russia) took on Tusseau (France) next and both fighters started tentatively
and were sizing each other up, Tusseau then early on
caught Kovalenko with a hiza geri
jodan got a wazari that
changed the rest of the fight and had the Frenchman in control, Kovalenko then
stepped up his work rate to try and get a wazari back
but Tusseau used his experience well to join an elite
group of European fighters who have made it to the last four, Hug, Thompson, Oganasian, Sokup and Belkhodja.
Yeremenko (Russia) dismantled Fedoseev
(Russia) with a perfect tactical fight, he hit him with inside and outside low
kicks and even a ushiro mawashi gedan
that left Fedoseev barely able to stand and a unanimous decision was inevitable
Semi Finals
Nishimura (Japan) took on Luzin (Russia) in
the first semi final and focused on low kicks on
Luzin’s right leg which was clearly damaged, Nishimura fought a very smart
fight and pick this leg off with low kicks continually but credit to Luzin who
kept coming forward and next back down, Luzin then got a series of warnings in
quick succession that lead to genten ichi which was harsh and sealed his fate I think it is
highly likely Nishimura would have got the decision and rightfully advanced.
Yeremenko (Russia) versus Tusseau
(France) was an enthralling fight, it was clear from the start that the Russian
was fresher with pretty much perfect tournament management so far, but Tusseau had a series of wazaris
and ippons through the event so was a constant danger. Yeremenko hit Tusseau from all angles, low kicks, chudan
mawashi geris and came close with a jodan ushiro mawashi geri but Tusseau showed great spirit to hang in there. After an
exchange Tusseau came off the tatami landed right on
the camera man that look like heavy fall, right after resumption there was a
flurry of punches and kicks from both fighters before Yeremenko landed a uchi jodan mae
geri for a wazari that put
him in the final as per four years ago.
3rd
/ 4th place match
Luzin (Russia) took the fight by default with
Tusseau (France) unable to fight on the doctors advice, both fighters were
very damaged by this point, Luzin had now third place at success World
Tournaments which was amazing and Tusseau getting to
the last four was a massive achievement and he had been brilliant for the whole
event.
Final
Nishimura (Japan) versus Yeremenko (Russia)
were the two top seeds and in my view the two top fighters in the event so in
my opinion the right final. It was a very even start and Nishimura mainly used
low kicks as expected with Yeremenko having more variety but also using his low
kicks very effectively, at the end of the round there was a surge of techniques
from both of them but there as nothing in it and the
all the judges correctly called it a draw and an extension was next. A very
similar pattern continued in the extension but Yeremenko gradually was throwing
a higher volume of techniques and really low kicks, this time at the end of the
round for the surge Yeremenko was definitely on top and looked fitter and
fresher as Nishimura struggled to keep up with his pace. At the end of the
round two flags gave it to Yeremenko as did referee Ogansian
to crown an emotional Yeremenko the winner.
Overall my thoughts were this as a really, really good event, Nishimura would have been a worthy
winner and was excellent through the whole event but Yeremenko was 100% the
right winner and looked pretty much unbeatable in the event, he has been
arguably the best fighter in the world for a number of years and this was a
fitting culmination to his achievements and he totally deserved it, and also
seems like a really nice guy having spoke to him
afterwards.
The top eight fighters was
also very accurate, yes there were some questionable elements in the draw and a
few bad decisions but not like events of many years ago and again as per four years
ago the judging was predominantly very fair.
Re the top eight fighters just to call out a
few points, Luzin was relentless as ever and is a machine, Tusseau
was exciting and had ippons a plenty and was superb in the whole vent, Zagainov
is immense, such power but also technique and movement, Ekimov
was a beast with so much power, and Fedoseev used the rules perfectly execute
his techniques to gain wazaris.
To end with a brief comment around the
women’s event, as per four years ago it was a really entertaining event, Sato
was a worthy winner but Uzawa would have been as well
and the fact the final was 3-2 in an extension makes that clear. The Russian
team were very strong especially with the semi-finalists of Zabelina
and Kozlova but also Zasorina, Kazartian,
Goldaeva and Konovalova.
El Haimour of
France was again brilliant with her high energy and brilliant movement, and
very unlucky to get Uzawa in the last eight but the
top sixteen was very strong and well matched this was always going to happen.
Another shout out to young Issa from Brazil who lost to El Haimour
in the first round in what was one of the best fights of the whole tournament.
This event I feel gets both bigger and stronger at each event and since they
held over the first three days alongside the men gives it the rightful stage.
Roll on four years time
and I cannot wait to attend the next World Tournament!