Top seed Davaadorj Tumurkhuleg comes through for Mongolia

World number three DAVAADORJ Tumurkhuleg (MGL) was the only top seed to come out triumphant on the opening day as he dispatched world number 198 Baruch SHMAILOV (ISR) in the -66kg final. Junior World bronze medallist SHMAILOV, 21, put up a spirited display and will be a name to keep tabs on this year after a performance which suggested there is much more to come from him.

In the first semi-final DAVAADORJ overcame world number 13 Nijat SHIKHALIZADA (AZE) as he scored a waza-ari from a tani-otoshi and added a second waza-ari with a mune-gatame to wrap up a stylish victory. In the second semi-final Georgii ZANTARAIA (UKR) was shocked by SHMAILOV who scored ippon from a ko-soto-gake with exactly a minute remaining after leading by a yuko and waza-ari.

The first bronze medal was won by ZANTARAIA against Qingdao Grand Prix winner Yakub SHAMILOV (RUS) as he scored a yuko and waza-ari in the final seconds and shut out his opponent who ran out of ideas against the revered Ukrainian fighter. The second bronze medal went to Abu Dhabi Grand Slam silver medallist Tarlan KARIMOV (AZE) who outlasted teammate SHIKHALIZADA in a key victory which could prove decisive in his country’s selections for the inaugural European Games in June which will act as this year’s European Championships. KARIMOV won by a single yuko score with a sasae-tsurikomi-ashi as his compatriot was unable to respond.