Surprising semi finals at first day in judo

The Olympic Games have started with some huge surprises in the quarter finals for both men and women. In the quarter finals top favourite Naohisa Takato was defeated by Amiran Papinashvili of Georgia.

Beslan Mudranov impressed with a victory on Won Jin Kim and now faces Papinashvili in the semi final. World Champion Yeldos Smetov in the semi final against Orkhan Safarov. The man from Azerbaijan was impressive with a huge ippon in the quarter final against Felipe Kitadai the local favourite and 2012 bronze medallist.

In the first rounds Kitadai defeated both Walide Khyar as well as Tobias Englmaier who defeated World Junior Champion Fran Garrigos. Austrian veteran Ludwig Paischer lost his first match against Hovhannes Davtyan which was his last fight in his career, he will retire, he won Olympic silver in 2008 and was vice World Champion in 2005.

In the women’s division Sarah Menezes lost her quarter final against Dayaris mestre of Cuba, who also knocked out Spanish Julia Figueroa. World Champion Paula Pareto is in the semi final against Ami Kondo. Kondo came back in the match in the last moment against Otgontsetseg Galbadrakh after being behind by wazari. Mestre will face Korean Jeong BoKyeong in the other semi final, so it two confrontations between Asia and South America. The athletes who lost in the quarter finals will have a repechage and can still win bronze.