Marhinde Verkerk takes gold in Tbilisi in direct match with Steenhuis

Former world champion of the Netherlands Marhinde Verkerk didn’t have to prove she is the nominated judoka for the Olympic Games, but this tiny little difference in the final of the Grand Prix Tbilisi against Guusje Steenhuis does taste sweet.

With the stakes so high and the rewards so great, a nail-biting contest ensued which saw the more experienced Verkerk emerge triumphant on shido penalties. Steenhuis was penalised twice for passivity while Verkerk was only penalised once and that was for the same indiscretion as the contest finished scoreless but nevertheless with victory for Verkerk.

In the first semi-final Steenhuis defeated Paris Grand Slam bronze medallist Natalie Powell of Wales in golden score. Steenhuis was penalised for an overly defensive posture while Powell was reprimanded for being passive. Powell lacked any fluidity and struggled to stand upright before the golden score period started and Steenhuis was clearly the fresher of the two which saw her take the contest by a yuko score. In the second semi-final London 2012 Olympic bronze medallist Mayra Aguiar (BRA) was upset by Verkerk who forced the Brazilian favourite to tap out with kansetsu-waza.

The first bronze medal was won by Aguiar who profited from the inaction of 36-year-old veteran Yahima Ramirez (POR). Brazilian Aguiar came here for gold but bounced back from a disappointing semi-final defeat as Ramirez, who received 12 shidos during five fights, looked lacklustre and received four shidos and hansoku-make. Aguiar is using such an events as a barometer to judge where she is physically and at least has areas to work on before the final Rio 2016 qualification events and her home Games. 

The second bronze medal contest was won by Grand Prix specialist Powell who shaded world number 12 Madeleine Malonga (FRA). The Welsh judoka was penalised twice for passivity in the early stages of the contest but increased her activity while Malonga began to toil. Powell rolled an ouchi-gari attack from the Frenchwoman who went over for a yuko for the 14th Grand Prix medal of her career which moves her ahead of Kayla Harrison (USA) as the third most prolific medallist behind Germany’s Franziska Konitz (15) and Luise Malzahn (16).