Takeshi Takeoka defeats Maruyama in U66kg final

An all Japan final for men U66kg, not a surprise, but in case you expect Hifumi Abe you’re wrong. In this case a surprising winner in Paris who may have had the victory of the day by defeated Yoshiro Maruyama. Takeshi Takeoka was today’s golden boy U66kg.

In the final Takeoka was ready for Maruyama, he knew the gripping patterns, the likely entries into his favourite scoring throws and he also had the energy of youth on his side. The action was not furious though and Maruyama has more than enough experience to cope with a challenge such as this. At almost full time he put in a tomoe-nage that others may have fallen for but Takeoka was fast to react and avoided conceding a score. This led into golden score but with each fighter owning a pair yellow cards, for not gripping quickly enough, twice.

Several half-attacks later and it appeared Maruyama was pushing to get closer to his uchi-mata but in a strange flurry of action very low to the tatami, Takeoka found an unorthodox grip which lead to an unorthodox grappling-style movement, taking Maruyama over his head and to the floor for waza-ari. Maruyama’s silver is not what he aimed at today and standing behind a new Japanese opponent will have a bitter after taste.

The first pool of the category demands some discussion. Number one seed and widely appreciated technician Denis Vieru (MDA), present in Paris and seen with his team in the warm-up room, did not compete. A line through his name meant a victory in the first round for either Saha (FIN) or Misirov (AIN) would skip them through two rounds and plant them securely in the round of 16, a big bonus under the lights of the Bercy.

However, that bonus was short lived for Misirov as he then fell straight away to Baul An (KOR) who had himself been offered a free round when Nadiradze (GEO) also did not compete. It was An who benefited most from the absences but we shall never know if he’d have achieved the same result with Vieru and Nadiradze present. An is never a walkover though and therefore it may have changed nothing.

Bayanmunkh (UAE) was An’s quarter-final opposition and he too fell at the hands of the Korean having had an excellent day up to that point.

The second quarter was also very interesting, including a first round fight between double world champion Maruyama (JPN) and Olympic champion Fabio Basile (ITA). It is perhaps true that most spectators expected Maruyama to asset himself very fast in that match but Basile is not Olympic champion for no reason. He had his game plan and it was a good one, neutralising Maruyama well into the 4th minute but eventually the Japanese technician found his mid-lapel and his uchi-mata and finished the job in ne-waza. Basile, fighting as he did, maybe have been on the podium today with a different draw, but this is high level sport and also the result on inconsistencies which led to a lack of seeding for some outstanding judoka.

Maruyama went on to defeat Kyrgyzbayev (KAZ), Khyar (FRA) and Iadov (UKR) in a series of challenging contests. Not many judoka could pass that line-up but Maruyama did, earning his place in the semi-final and then cementing our impression of him by passing An too to reach an all-Japanese final. His opposition for the last men’s fight of the day was to be Takeoka (JPN), a 24 year old with very little reference on the global judo scene.

The first bronze medal contest was fought between Bayanmunkh and Yondonperenlei (MGL), the former beating Iadov in the repechage in a furious battle. Bayanmunkh played a very tactical game in this medal contest and eventually won on penalties. He has had a great day, winning the second grand slam medal of his career, leaving Yondonperenlei having to settle for 5th place.

The second bronze medal would be won by either David Garcia Torne (ESP) or Baul An, the latter being the favourite among spectators. However, these predictions did not comer to fruition as Garcia Torne, confident in ne-waza as much as he is when standing, employed great dynamism and a combination on the ground to finish with a double tap from An, succumbing to a beautifully executed juji-gatame in the third minute of the contest.