Japanese groundworker Shori Hamada stable with gold

The gold medal for Japan’s Hamada Shori is not really a surprise. She is the number two on the World Ranking List, she was world champion in 2018 and was finalist in 2019. Hamada is part of the Japanese team which will participate in the Olympic Games this summer. The Antalya Grand Slam was therefore a good test for her, pitted against the Polish judoka Beata Pacut, fifth in Tashkent a few weeks ago and who delivered a good performance by reaching the final.

Logically after a first waza-ari, Hamada Shori continued in osae-komi-waza for ippon. The Japanese fighter will be among the top favourites for Olympic gold this summer.

Seventh in Tashkent, Antonina Shmeleva (RUS) progressed by entering the bronze medal contest against Ma Zhenzhao (CHN), third in Tbilisi a week ago, but this time the Chinese woman couldn't deliver the same performance and was defeated after she received a third penalty in golden score. Shmeleva wins bronze.

Junior world champion in 2015, Karla Prodan (CRO) progresses regularly on the world circuit. Finalist in Tashkent and third in Tel Aviv this year, she offered herself another medal chance against Vanessa Chala (ECU), winner of the Pan American Championships in 2020. Chala controlled the match to win the bronze medal, looking strong and determined throughout the day.