Sotaro Fujiwara defeats Timur Arbuzov in U81kg final

At the second day of competition at the Tokyo Grand Slam 2024 Sotaro Fujiwara defeated Timur Arbuzov in the U81kg final. The first observation was that the Japanese domination would not be total, since Timur Arbuzov (IJF) defeated David Karapetyan (IJF) in the semi-final. However, the title could still remain in Japanese hands because Arbuzov was opposed by Sotaro Fujiwara (JPN), third in Kazakhstan this season.

In the final, the danger came quickly from an aerial uchi-mataf from Fujiwara but for no score. Arbuzov was warned! Intensity was an ingredient of the contest but at the end of normal time despite all the attempts, there was no score, just one shido for Arbuzov who seemed to be a little tired towards the end; time for golden score. Deliverance came from a tremendous sasae-tsuri-komi-ashi for ippon. The first gold was for Japan on day 2.
The first contest for a bronze medal pitted the number 1 seed, François Gauthier Drapeau (CAN), who had been defeated at the quarter-final stage, against David Karapetyan (IJF). Karapetyan being unable to compete, the medal went to François Gauthier Drapeau.
It was Giacomo Gamba (ITA) and Yuhei Oino (JPN) who were on the bill for the second match for a bronze medal. Both judoka maintained a high pace throughout the contest, with Oino putting a lot of pressure on his opponent. With less than 30 seconds to go, the Japanese judoka performed a beautiful o-guruma in a circling motion for a waza-ari, enough to win the bronze medal.