Judo Grand Slam in Antalya: Old hands and fresh blood

Second day of the IJF Judo Grand Slam in Antalya: The stadium was full and children from the region were looking forward to a great judo day. The opening ceremony was led by IJF President Marius Vizer and the President of the Turkish Judo Federation, Sezer Huysuz.

Briton Lucy Renshall started in well-known form, defeating Hungarian Szofi Ozbas and defending her Grand Slam title she had won in Antalya last year. It’s already her fourth Grand Slam gold – and the 26-year-old judoka is predicted to have a bright future in the under 63kg class. Marius Vizer, President of the International Judo Federation, presented the medals.

In the weight class up to 73kg, the young Georgian talent Giorgi Terashvili won his first medal on the World Judo Tour. He won gold by defeating Italian Manuel Lombardo, who has only recently competed in this weight class. The President of CEDCO Hungary, Michael Michaely, presented him with his medals.

In a checkered final, former French world champion Marie Eve Gahie scored this ippon in the under 70 kg weight class. She had missed the Olympic selection in Tokyo, but now she is back on the tatami. She received her medal from IJF Director General Vlad Marinescu.

A real surprise was the young Brazilian Guilherme Schmidt: he sent world champion Matthias Casse to the mat and threw him out of the final. There he met local hero Vedat Albayrak.

Schmidt surprised again – and also destroyed the Turkish hopes for gold. With a fantastic transition to floor work, he took the Turkish judoka in an armbar – and won his first Grand Slam medal ever. It was presented by Yavuz Yükselir, President of the Yükselir Group.

Even though host Turkey has had to settle for a silver medal so far, the home crowd still had reason to celebrate. All Turkish judoka showed solid performances, with exciting throws and on the floor. More importantly, they spur on the young, the next generation of Turkish judoka.

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