Alexander Yatskevich analysis Grand Prix Tashkent

At the end of the first day of the Grand Prix in Tashkent, Alexander Yatskevich reviews the event so far. A day with really dynamic judo and many scores.

Generally speaking the trend is that athletes are less and less trying to win with tactics, I mean to be clear with shidos (penalties). They are trying, at least trying to score and that is very positive for our sport. I am sure that in the future this trend will increase even more. The competitors have understood that to win they need to step on the mat, with the desire to score. Of course, it can happen that you win with penalties, but it's a totally different mindset to go on the tatami wanting to score. During the preliminary rounds we had really a few disqualifications and I think there was only one case of hansoku-make given to an athlete for applying a dangerous technique (standing waki gatame).

Of course, we can and we must underline the overall performance of Kosovo. They are impressive athletes under the leadership of an amazing coach (Driton Kuka), who is capable of motivating the team like nobody else. It is obvious that having a star such as Majlinda Kelmendi in the team helps a lot. She is strong, but not only that. She is the perfect example for her teammates, and should be for other judoka as well. It is clear that she inspires the rest of the team.

In the final block, when we see that we had 15 matches and that all together it took less than two hours, this is a sign that the quality of the judo was at the rendezvous. Of course it was not perfect all through the final block, and we could see that some of the athletes were waiting for the golden score as soon as they were getting closer to the end of the bout. But then, they were taking all risks to score quickly and that is what happened every time. We really had a successful day and I hope people enjoyed the judo as much as I did.

Alexander Yatskevich of Latvia started judo when he was 12 in 1970. He is a member of the IJF refereeing commission. In 1980 he obtained a bronze medal at the Moscow Olympic Games. He was also a Junior World Champion and three times European Champion. Later he became a successful coach, especially with the Belgium team from 1989 to 2005