Which World Ranking Leaders take 50,000 dollars?

The leaders of the IJF World Ranking per 17 December after the World Masters in St. Petersburg will receive an extra bonus of 50,000 dollar for each category. For many this will be an extra year salary besides the usual price money in the IJF World Tour. Never the IJF rewarded an amount of 700,000 as bonus at the end of the year.

In the category U60kg World Champion Naohisa Takato will pick up the extra bonus. Although he didn’t compete in St. Petersburg, he had enough points to take it. Same counts for World Champion Hifumi Abe U66kg. World Champ Soichi Hashimoto did participate and won the closer of the season. It gave him a lead in the future with a huge distance to number two Hidayat Heydarov.

U81kg it was very tight in the end with Dutchman Frank de Wit and Russian Khasan Khalmurzaev who won the Masters. It was Khalmurzaev who took the victory and secured enough points (4650) just before De Wit with 4554 points. U90kg Serbian Aleksandar Kukolj couldn’t be satisfied about his Masters appearance but he did win the 50,000 dollar, which will make a huge difference for him. He will be happy that the season is over now. Masters winner Gviniashvili ended as second in the ranking.

U100kg Varlam Liparteliani won the Masters, but he didn’t reach the top position anymore in the World Ranking as his opponent was World Ranking Leader Michael Korrel. Without this year’s double World Champion Teddy Riner, David Moura could secure his leading position in St. Petersburg. He took a silver medal in Russia after he lost to Guram Tushishvili of Georgia, the third Georgian to win the Masters this weekend.

In the women’s division Funa Tonaki came just short after her win in St. Petersburg and Urantsetseg Munkhbat captured the year bonus U48kg just before Funa Tonaki. More exciting was the battle U52kg where World number 10 Natalia Kuziutina took the victory in Russia and took the 1800 points, but Erika Miranda had enough with bronze, Kuziutina is the new number two.

Sumiya Dorjsuren of Mongolia had no doubts in advance and won the Masters for a record fourth time and caught the bonus U57kg as expected. French World Champion Clarisse Agbegnenou could become the world number one in St. Petersburg as Slovenian Tina Trstenjak skipped the last event of the year  and although Miku Tashiro won the Masters it was Agbegnenou who could grab the bonus U63kg. Chizuru Arai didn’t have to start in St Petersburg to catch the prize money U70kg.

It was quite a battle U78kg where Guusje Steenhuis had to win bronze to claim the prize after all. With three Dutch on the podium including winner Marhinde Verkerk, The Dutch worked on their seedings for next year. Steenhuis is the second Dutch to win the bonus. Verkerk is back in the top with this win at the second position.

Japanese Sarah Asahina was surprised by the excellent win by Kim Min-Jeong of Korea who took the 1800 points at the Masters after her gold medal. Kim is the new World Number one.

Read all the news about the IJF World Masters in St. Petersburg.