Shynkeyev defeats Volkov in Tashkent heavyweight final

Kazach judoka Yerzhan Shynkeyev won his first Grand Prix gold medal as he defeated Tyumen Grand Slam winner Andrey Volkov of Russia to clinch the men’s heavyweight title in the last contest of the Tashkent Grand Prix 2016.

Both judoka had the appealing incentive of a first Grand Prix gold medal and Shynkeyev, who was Asian Championships bronze medallist, conjured up the best moment of the contest as he scored a yuko with an uchi-mata after the halfway point of the contest.

In the first semi-final Volkov bested Talllinn European Open winner Aliaksandr Vakhaviak (BLR) with a juji-gatame while the second semi-final was a battle of Asian Championships bronze medallists in Iurii Krakovetskii (KGZ) and Yerzhan Shynkeyev. The Kazakh judoka scored a yuko and a waza-ari without reply to topple his opponent.

The first bronze medal went to former Tashkent Grand Prix silver medallist Boltoboy Baltaev (UZB) who defeated world number 21 Krakovetskii. World number 77 Baltaev won 1:2 on shidos as Krakovetskii never got into his stride at the Uzbekistan Sport Complex despite a more than respectable showing at the Olympic Games. The second bronze medal went to world number 55 Vakhaviak who thwarted 25-year-old Shukhrat Turoboev (UZB). Belarus’ heavyweight trapped his unranked opponent with a mune-gatame for 20 seconds and ippon to claim the second Grand Prix medal of his late-blooming career.