Diyora Keldiyorova surprises undefeated Krasniqi twice

Since her bronze medal at the 2022 World Championships in Tashkent, Distria Krasniqi has been undefeated, winning without a problem at the World Judo Masters in Jerusalem and then at the beginning of February in Paris. In Tbilisi Uzbek Diyora Keldiyorova stopped her dominance.

Krasniqi qualified for the final without really trembling, to face the 2015 world cadet champion Diyora Keldiyorova. Experts were wondering what Keldiyorova could honestly do against her illustrious opponent. In judo there is always that part which is totally uncertain and makes judo incredibly exciting. Distria Krasniqi knew that she had to be careful on the floor but the danger came at the start of the final and came from Keldiyorova who scored a first waza-ari with a precise shoulder movement, even if she was totally under Krasniqi's pressure. Keldiyorova threw Krasniqi in the first exchange, battling under the pressure of the Kosovan’s trademark heavy top grip. Krasniqi, visibly disturbed but always the professional, came straight back at the Uzbek with an even stronger grip but Keldiyorova repeated her response, throwing Distria for a second waza-ari and taking the gold in just 41 seconds. To throw once can happen almost by accident, with opportunists making the most of mistakes but to throw twice, against the Olympic and world champion, this is no fluke and no special moment relying on the mistake of another. What a contest from Keldiyorova, who upset the Olympic champion.

The new Tbilisi Grand Slam champion Keldiyorova has thoughts about how the win came about, “I was working with the coaches to study the technical elements and tactics needed for this fight, not just for today but for a long time. The coaches found the gaps and spaces and weaknesses that we could use and so the plan was set. This is the result of training every day and working on it very hard. It looked easy because we already did so much work.” 

About the final itself, “Today it was a big surprise to be like this, to be so clear and I hope it wasn’t too early!” With Doha just around the corner, timing is important. “We have found a good way. On the right day she can beat everybody. Now she is on the top, in a position to beat all and as a minimum we know she can win a medal at the worlds. Her performance is good motivation for the whole team. After the final we had a call from a small team of young women at home who stopped their training to watch the final, to tell us how inspired they are."

Without a notable result on the international circuit, except for a bronze medal in Antalya in 2019, Gultaj Mammadaliyeva (AZE) qualified for the first match for a bronze medal, against Yeqing Zhu (CHN), who has arrived for her first participation at a World Judo Tour event. For some time now, we have seen a Chinese team back, a team which is proving to be performing more and more.

Since the Beijing 2008 golden generation, China experienced a slump which currently seems to be re-inflating. Between the two newcomers, the kumi-kata battle raged for a long time before Mammadaliyeva eventually scored a waza-ari with a seoi-nage movement that offered her a first medal at that level and a release of true emotion at the end of the match. Yeqing Zhu will have other opportunities but this time the medal goes to Azerbaijan and to a very promising athlete.

Both Gefen Primo (ISR) and Masha Ballhaus (GER) had tough matches and with different fates but in the end they came together to fight for the second bronze medal. Masha Ballhaus, who already showed some beautiful judo during the morning session, was the first to score a waza-ari. The left and right opposition seemed to bother the Israeli competitor more than the German. Having the waza-ari in her pocket, Ballhaus played tactically to win the bronze, which after the gold earned in Tashkent recently, completed a nice series for the German.