Noël van ‘t End back at the highest world level

The final in Paris for men U90kg was between two stubborn and determined judoka. At first it looked likely to end with shidos even though the action was not lacking. However, just inside the last minute Noel Van t End caught Murad Fatiyev (AZE) with a very low rolling left seoi -otoshi for waza-ari and despite being pushed to the edge more than once, held his score and at 31 years old won his first grand slam gold since 2014. It was the first of two gold medals for the Netherlands this Sunday.

The first bronze was contested by Mihael Zgank (TUR) and Silva Morales (CUB). The Turkish judoka had made light work of his Senegalese opponent in round one but struggled against USA’s John Jayne, leaving it until the golden score period or throw for ippon. He beat a well-supported Mathieu and then lost to the Georgian top seed.  Ivan Silva Morales took the medal in a fight that he conducted well. It wasn’t beautiful but it was intelligent.

The second bronze went to Maisuradze who threw a disappointed Klammert (CZE) for ippon. Klammert had enjoyed a good day until then with several strong wins but he just couldn’t take the final step.

Ivan Silva Morales (CUB) and Luka Maisuradze (GEO) each respected the seeding, reaching their respective semi-finals. However that run only went so far and both ended up in bronze medal contests, after losing their respective semi-finals to Noël Van ‘t End and Fatiyev (AZE), with the Dutchman having beaten Ngayap Hambou comfortably, by two waza-ari scores inside two minutes.