Joana Ramos books emotional victory in Tyumen

Joana Ramos of Portugal celebrated winning her first Grand Slam gold medal as she continues to defy the odds at the age of 33. Asian Championships winner Ma Yingnan (CHN), who was fifth at the World Championships last year in Chelyabinsk, fell behind to a waza-ari after 40 seconds and that was the difference at the end of the contest as the Portuguese fighter, who won silver at the 2010 Russia Grand Slam, showed the world that she is truly in her prime.

In the first semi-final Ramos defeated two-time Grand Slam winner Jaana Sundberg (FIN) in golden score. After four minutes the contest was tied with one shido to each fighter and no scores registered and so the action continued with an unlimited period of golden score. Ramos showed her superior conditioning level by moving forward at every opportunity and was rewarded with the win as she scored a yuko after 68 seconds of additional time. In the second semi-final former world bronze medallist Mareen Kraeh of Germany was defeated by Ma by a waza-ari score as the latter made sure that the nine-strong all-female Chinese team made a positive start in Tyumen.

The first bronze medal was clinched by Kraeh who dismissed Jeju Grand Prix bronze medallist Gili Cohen (ISR) by ippon after 79 seconds. The second bronze medal was won by two-time Grand Slam bronze medallist Roni Schwartz from Israel who bested Sundberg by a waza-ari as the Finnish fighter was off form in the last contest.