Natsumi Tsunoda wins gold on first Grand Prix outing
Japanese Tsunoda Natsumi won on her Grand Prix debut to keep the pressure on her U52kg rivals in Japan. Former Tokyo Grand Slam winner Tsunoda, who lost to teammate Shishime Ai in the Worlds final in Budapest a year ago, left as a winner this time after winning all five of her contests by ippon.
The Japanese judoka defeated Zagreb Grand Prix bronze medallist Charline Van Snick (BEL) in the final with a ko-uchi-gari in golden score.
In the first semi-final Van Snick defeated former Baku Grand Slam winner Gili Cohen (ISR) by ippon. In the second semi-final Tsunoda surpassed three-time world medallist Andreea Chitu (ROU) who was disqualified after receiving three penalties.
The first bronze medal was awarded to Antalya Grand Prix silver medallist Chelsie Giles (GBR) who threw for waza-ari and followed up with a juji-gatame to submit Chitu. British youngster Giles showed her maturity by defeating one of the most decorated current judoka in the category with a polished display.
The second bronze medal was won by Pan American Championships bronze medallist Ecaterina Guica (CAN) who submitted Cohen with a juji-gatame as the Israeli was caught off guard by the Canadian.
Result | City | Date |
---|---|---|
2 | Paris | 30 Jul |
1 | Abu Dhabi | 21 May |
1 | Zagreb | 26 Apr |
3 | Belgrade | 2023 |
2 | Montpellier | 2023 |