Denis Batchaev steps into the footlight of Tasoev and Bashaev

Denis Batchaev (IJF), had a fantastic day, winning round by round towards Tataroglu. It wasn’t him who defeated the Japanese judoka of the pool though. That achievement was logged by Kyrgyz athlete Emirkhan Zholdoshkaziev who threw Hatakeyama (JPN) for ippon with sumi-gaeshi before falling at the hands of Batchaev. In the final Nasibov attacked with a huge one-handed uchi-mata but Batchaev was ready for him and transitioned perfectly into kami-shiho-gatame to become junior world champion.

In the first bronze medal contest Ibrahim Tataroglu threw Darius Dobre (ROU) with makikomi before sealing the deal on the ground. This is Turkiye’s first medal of this junior world championships.

The second bronze medal would go to either Kardava (GEO) or Kadzaev (IJF), a brutal head-to-head between two men who showed they bring full power to every attack. To begin with, they cancelled each other out but a poorly prepared seoi-otoshi from Kadzaev was then countered by Kardava for waza-ari. Just before the final bell, Kadzaev tried again but this time with a yoko-guruma and it paid off, equalising. In golden score the advantage was Kardava’s as Kadzaev had two yellow cards next to his waza-ari on the board, a risky position to be in. The penalties weren’t his saviour though as he managed to counter a second time two minutes into golden score. The Georgian had the medal.

Kadzaev (IJF) was the seemingly unlucky judoka who drew the Canadian early but Messe A Bessong was off the pace and didn’t obey the ranking. Kadzaev continued through to the semi-final where he met Nasibov (AZE). He began at the top of pool B and held his line, winning the quarter. Biganashvili (GEO), Ergin (TUR) and Dobre (ROU) were knocked out one by one.

On the bottom half, another top seed made his way through the challenges presented to him. Tataroglu (TUR), not worrying about his teammate’s exit, surged forward in pool D, passing the second Georgian of the category in the quarter-final. It was a tactical victory but a worthy one, without doubt. His semi-final opponent, Denis Batchaev (IJF), had a fantastic morning, winning round by round towards Tataroglu. It wasn’t him who defeated the Japanese judoka of the pool though. That achievement was logged by Kyrgyz athlete Emirkhan Zholdoshkaziev who threw Hatakeyama (JPN) for ippon with sumi-gaeshi before falling at the hands of Batchaev.

Nasibov won the first semi-final with two inescapable o-uchi-gari throws while Batchaev won the second with an osoto-gari.

John Messe A Bessong of Canada has been a formidable force all season, getting stronger and stronger. He has stature, technique and confidence and no-one wants him first in their line-up.