Murodjon Yuldoshev pleases the homecrowd

With a full house in Tashkent, every time an Uzbek athlete stepped onto the tatami, the noise level in the stands increased massively. This was particularly the case for Murodjon Yuldoshev who qualified for the final. It must be said that in this category, Uzbekistan really shone, since in the semi-finals Yuldoshev beat his compatriot Shakhram Ahadov.

If the public hoped for a 100% local final though, this was not the case since it was finally Daniyar Shamshayev (KAZ) who faced Yuldoshev to win the gold medal, after a very good run during the preliminary stages of the competition.

With a head-to-head in favour of Yuldoshev (2-1) and the support of the home crowd, there was a little advantage for the local competitor. The final started on a high rhythm around a strong battle for the grip. Despite the tough exchanges, a few penalties were distributed, two to Shamshayev and one to Yuldoshev.

When the last minute started, in a clever move and with anticipation, Yuldoshev scored a waza-ari with tani-otoshi. The most difficult part of the match then began: to keep that score. Supported by the public Yuldoshev managed to stay ahead to offer a great gold medal to the host nation.

With the middleweight judoka entertaining the Uzbek crowd with their usual brand of exciting attacking judo. Here are some of the headlines from the second day of competition at the Yusunobod Sport Complex.

We found Salvador Cases Roca (ESP) and Nils Stump (SUI) on the way to the first bronze medal. With a great change in direction, from uchi-mata to o-uchi-gari, Nils Stump scored a first waza-ari. He doubled the score a few seconds later with a counter attack for a clear victory.

Magdiel Estrada (CUB) and Shakhram Ahadov (UZB) were set to fight for a place on the podium but as Shakhram Ahadov was unable to compete due to being disqualified earlier in the competition, Magdiel Estrada was declared the winner of the bronze medal.

Uzbekistan trailed several countries in the medal rankings after day 1 but the home team began to rectify that on day 2. In our preview, we noted the country’s firepower at -73kg, with Yuldoshev, Nomonov and Ahadov all seeded and aiming for the Olympic Games. In the end, only Yuldoshev made it onto the podium after passing every test thrown at him; he narrowly defeated Shamshayev (KAZ) in golden score in the final.