Sports Bulletin

Sports Desk ISLAMABAD (October 27, 2021):-The first day of the Kata World Championships, Lisbon, Portugal 2021, took place at the Pavillion 1, Estadio Universitário de Lisboa. Four categories were in action: Nage-no-kata senior and Nage-no-kata U-23, Katame-no-kata senior and Ju-no-kata senior. After the performance of the veterans last week it was a unique and interesting way to show the beauty of our sport through the 'choreography' of kata. The IJF President, Marius Vizer, said, "Our kata specialists have waited patiently for their pinnacle event of the year to re-emerge and with the extraordinary efforts of the local organisers, the 2021 edition of the World Kata Championships promises to reflect the traditions of judo that we hold in such high esteem." IJF Kata commission director, Daniel De Angelis also commented, “The level of the judoka is incredible and we have seen very strong teams. When looking at all the pairs who entered the finals, I can say that any of them could have been world champion today. All these teams have the expertise to go to many world championships and I am happy to see that. Since 2014 this is the largest group of competitors that we had. I am glad to see the numbers growing. We have 102 pairs taking part in this event. We believe that if there was no pandemic, we would have even more athlete participating in. I want also to underline the level of the juniors. For the first time in history, we organised the competition also for athletes under 23 years old. We can say that today they had the same level as their elders. We were expecting a very good level. We witnessed something even better.” Whilst Michel Kozlowski, Sport Director of the Kata Commission explained, "The technical level was particularly high in all the kata presented today. All the finalists had the potential to win and it is not necessarily the leaders of the first rounds, who won at the end. It shows how they were all very good.” We also heard from Michel Huet, Kata Commission Coordination Director, who emphasised the great atmosphere and organisation, "Everything went very well during this first day of competition. We had a really great atmosphere, full of respect, which was worthy of our discipline. It was also the very firs time that we used digital tablets for the refereeing and this worked perfectly giving us the possibility to deliver the results fasters to all the participants and the public.” It can be wholly agreed that the Portuguese Judo Federation delivered a perfect event and knowing the complication of the current situation, the Kata World Championships are already a great success. An important ceremony just prior to the start of the final block was held and a minute of silence was observed in memory of judo community members who contributed to the development of kata in the world and who unfortunately passed away recently. Mr Franco Capelletti, the Chairman of the Kata commission and IJF 10th dan, praised the memory of those we lost, "Dear judo family, the world was hit hard by the covid pandemic. We lost members of our community and it is important to remember them: Veuleman Eric (1942-2021), Murata Naoki (1949-2020), Daigo Toshiro (1926-2021), Matsushita Saburo (1935-2020), Kano Yukimitsu (1933-2020). They were judoka, kata specialists and our friends.” We also spoke to the nage-no-kata World Champion Niels Neumann from Netherlands said: “We are super happy. We work hard today, all the pairs who competed were very strong. We couldn’t have done it without the help of our coaches and all the competitors who helped us to reach this level. We made each other better. We won silver before and we are very proud to win gold this time.” Twin brothers and silver medalists in Nage-no-kata U23, Nikolai and Iaroslav Zhikharev from Russia commented on their experience at the event: “It’s the first time we are participating in the world championships and we got silver. One of us just made a small mistake. So our plan is to keep working on our technique and get a better result in the future.”  

SPORTS BULLETIN REPORT Paris (October 18, 2021):-The 2021 edition of the Paris Grand Slam ended this Sunday 17th October with the last seven categories of the draw. This restart of competitions in Paris after the shutdown due to Covid and with it being only a few short months after the Tokyo Olympic Games, was very interesting in more ways than one. First of all, it was a magnificent celebration of the fifty-year history of this legendary tournament. Between 1971 and 2021, the heroes of French and world judo were often built in Paris, because winning in France was and still is a necessary step for a successful career. The list of victories at the world championships and the Olympic Games can go on for pages; a title during the Grand Slam in Paris marks the memories of the athletes themselves and of judo fans. For long minutes, the 8,000 spectators were able to express their joy in front of a parade of world judo legends. There was: Lucie Decosse (FRA) Yvonne Boenisch (GER) Kate Howey (GBR) Keiji Suzuki (JPN) Masahi Ebinuma (JPN) Vitaly Makarov (RUS) Céline Lebrun (FRA) Jean-Luc Rougé (FRA) Haruki Uemura (JPN) Yasuhiro Yamashita (JPN) Udo Quellmalz (GER) Cathy Fleury (FRA) Guiseppe Maddaloni (ITA) Neil Adams (GBR) Ki-Young Jeon (KOR) Angelo PARISI (FRA) Emilie ANDEOL (FRA) Madeleine MALONGA (FRA) Gévrise EMANE (FRA) Fabien CANU (FRA) Frédéric DEMONTFAUCON (FRA) France Judo, for the delight of the public, then made space for the French National Team who performed the historic feat of winning the first ever mixed team Olympic title in Tokyo during the summer: Amandine BUCHARD, Sarah-Leonie CYSIQUE, Margot PINOT, Madeleine MALONGA, Romane DICKO, Luka MHKEIDZE, Kilian LEBLOUCH, Guillaume CHAINE. Also present were the French Paralympic medallists Sandrine MARTINET and Hellios Latchoumanaia. If the audience in the French capital is always concise and passionate it is because they love and know judo and enjoy the show produced by athletes coming from all corners of the globe. They also love to celebrate their heroes and have a privileged moment with them. If some of the competitors present today competed during the weekend, like Guillaume Chaine, several others are still recovering from this summer but they all reassured the public that they will soon be back. Amandine Buchard was clear, “We will be here in February for the next Paris Grand Slam!” -81kg: Sasaki Demonstrates His Talent One could expect an explosive final between the prodigy Tato Grigalashvili (GEO) and the winner of the Guangzhou Masters in 2018, Takeshi Sasaki (JPN). The Georgian remains in the eyes of many specialists a great champion in the making, capable of attacking in all directions and with spectacular movements. For the moment, the international results of the world number one are still a little below what could be expected of him. At 21 he is still young and has several years to expand his record. Today he found someone stronger than him with Sasaki who gave Grigalashvili no chance by throwing him twice, the first time with a reverse shoulder movement and the second time with a spectacular hip technique. Grigalashvili could rub his head a bit at the end of the final wondering what happened. The reigning world champion, Matthias Casse returned to competition in Paris and undoubtedly hoped for better than a fifth place. The two Japanese in the category decided otherwise. For the bronze medal it was Sotaro Fujiwara who won against Casse. In the second match for a bronze medal, it was Bolor-Ochir Gereltuya (MGL) who won against Tizie Gnamien (FRA) after being led by a waza-ari, but then scoring a clear ippon. Medals, flowers and cheques were presented by Mr Mustapha Berraf IOC Member and President of the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa and Mr David Inquel, Vice President of France Judo Final GRIGALASHVILI Tato (GEO) vs SASAKI Takeshi (JPN) Bronze Medal Contests GNAMIEN Tizie (FRA) vs GERELTUYA Bolor-Ochir (MGL) CASSE Matthias (BEL) vs FUJIWARA Sotaro (JPN) Final Results 1. SASAKI Takeshi (JPN) 2. GRIGALASHVILI Tato (GEO) 3. GERELTUYA Bolor-Ochir (MGL) 3. FUJIWARA Sotaro (JPN) 5. GNAMIEN Tizie (FRA) 5. CASSE Matthias (BEL) 7. GRAMKOW Tim (GER) 7. HEIJMAN Jim (NED) -70kg: Japan Strikes Again For Barbara Matic this Paris Grand Slam was an interesting and above all important test. World champion in Budapest in June, the Croatian skipped the Zagreb Grand Prix, in her own country, in order to better prepare for the meeting in Paris. Dressed for the first time on the international circuit in her beautiful red bib, she approached the competition with seriousness and concentration, to reach the final against the Japanese Saki Niizoe. Barbara Matic said, “I was feeling great but in the final something weird happened. We went into ne-waza, she strangled me and I started to feel dizzy. It is ok now, though, she was stronger today.” After a rather balanced start to the final, even if Matic showed some small signs of imbalance, it was finally on the ground, once again that Niioze found the solution by pinning Matic already locked in by a potential shime-waza from the Japanese judoka. And that makes six gold medals for Japan already! After a long golden score and a close match, Yoko Ono won a bronze medal. At the same time, Hilde Jager, fifth in Zagreb a few weeks ago, concluded her weekend with a bronze medal after having defeated Ellen Santana (BRA). Medals, flowers and cheques were presented by Mr Jean Luc Rougé, General Secretary of the International Judo Federation and Mr Anthony Le Daniel, Vice President of France Judo Final MATIC Barbara (CRO) vs NIIZOE Saki (JPN) Bronze Medal Contests JAGER Hilde (NED) vs SANTANA Ellen (BRA) ONO Yoko (JPN) vs PETERSEN POLLARD Kelly (GBR) Final Results 1. NIIZOE Saki (JPN) 2. MATIC Barbara (CRO) 3. JAGER Hilde (NED) 3. ONO Yoko (JPN) 5. SANTANA Ellen (BRA) 5. PETERSEN POLLARD Kelly (GBR) 7. YEATS-BROWN Katie-Jemima (GBR) 7. TSERENDULAM Enkhchimeg (MGL) -90kg: Nagasawa too Strong for the Others Khusen Khalmurzaev (RUS) does not have the same prize list as his illustrious twin brother Khasan, who was Olympic champion in Rio in 2016, but still the Russian is a regular on the international circuit. This time he reached the final against the Japanese Kenta Nagasawa, who once again won the gold medal. With already seven gold medals under the Japanese flag, Keiji Suzuki, who recently replaced Kosei Inoue as the head coach for men, can be satisfied. The mother country of judo is already preparing the new Olympic cycle and even if they did not come to Paris with their number ones, they are proving to be on top. Vitaly Makarov, Khalmurzaev's coach said: “We knew the Japanese opponent would wait and counter-attack and that happened. Khalmurzaev started his attack; it was a good one but Nagasawa stopped it well and managed to return the situation.” The two bronze medals went to Luka Maisuradze (GEO) and Anri Egutidze (POR). Medals, flowers and cheques were presented by Mr Andrey Kryukov, General Secretary of the National Olympic Committee of Kazakhstan and Ms Ericka Merion, Board Member of France Judo Final KHALMURZAEV Khusen (RUS) vs NAGASAWA Kenta (JPN) Bronze Medal Contests MURAO Sanshiro (JPN) vs EGUTIDZE Anri (POR) MAISURADZE Luka (GEO) vs MATHIEU Alexis (FRA) Final Results 1. NAGASAWA Kenta (JPN) 2. KHALMURZAEV Khusen (RUS) 3. EGUTIDZE Anri (POR) 3. MAISURADZE Luka

SPORTS BULLETIN REPORT ISLAMABAD (October 14, 2021):-The Chief of Army Staff (COAS) G-1 Taekwondo Championship will be taken place at Liquat Gymnasium, Pakistan Sports Complex Islamabad from November 6 to 8 this year 2021. According to president, Pakistan Taekwondo Federation (PTF) Col (Retd) Mohammad Wasim Janjua, the preparations are underway for the mega international event, as around three 300 athletes will participate. Along with 2 national teams of Pakistan, provincial, departments, and services teams will also participate. International referees have been invited to supervise the matches. The last date of registration for international and national players is October 25.  Wasim further said that foreign teams have shown keen interest in being a part of the COAS G-1 event and all stakeholders including POA, PSB, Pakistan Army, and Taekwondo Federation are keen to see the success of the championship. Wasim Janjua said that Pakistan Taekwondo Federation would nominate international and national personalities as goodwill ambassadors for the event. President of South Asian Taekwondo Association and Honorary Vice President of PTF Omar Saeed said that hosting an international level event would help in highlighting the positive aspects of Pakistan in the field of sports and would send a positive message about Pakistan to the whole world.

Sports Desk ISLAMABAD (October 11, 2021):-Sunday 10th October, everyone had to change the hardware. When the mixed team tournament arrives, it is not the same. The concept does not change, of a tatami, two opponents and a winner, but here there are second chances, even third ones. In individual competitions judoka depend on themselves, for better or for worse. The team competition has a safety cushion; a defeat does not mean elimination. That’s what the teammates are here for: to correct a stumble. The difference is that, when competing alone, losers lick their wounds alone. In teams, there is no fear of losing but of disappointing teammates and that is the beauty of it, because everyone comes out with more ambition and fury than usual. It is the magic of the teams, a modality that has come to stay because it motivates and everyone likes it. At 10am today, one could immediately notice that the sound level in the arena had risen dramatically. There was only one reason for this: during every single match, entire teams, including competing and non-competing athletes, coaches and physiotherapists, were cheering and supporting from the stands. it must be said that within a performing team, there are the individuals, the team itself and the atmosphere that is generated by the whole group. This third element definitely plays an important role when it comes to adding the extra energy that is necessary to move mountains. Even if France and Russia were the top seeds and therefore the favourites and even if they actually reached the final, nothing was written in advance and everything was possible. This is when uncertainty produces beauty. In each round the two finallists faced difficult moments. They couldn't just say 'oh we're going to win with ease.’ This never really happens in the team events. Because they are teams and not just groups, France and Russia overcame all the challenges. Final: France vs Russia - France as One Joan-Benjamin Gaba already fought zillions of matches today, with long golden scores and a lot of energy left on the tatami. In the first bout of the final he was opposed to Saikhan Shabikhanov in what quickly looked like an intense match and it was. Attacks were coming from both sides, the two athletes always, at the very last moment, managing to escape from unbelievable situations. Step by step the French judoka seemed to take advantage over his opponent, who was penalised. After a long golden score, Saikhan Shabikhanov received a third shido that gave the point to Gaba and France, but what a match! Mélodie Turpin and Francis Damier quickly gave two more points to team France, both winning by ippon, before Coralie Hayme, the new heavy weight world champion, stepped on the tatami aigainst Alana Alborova. With one gold medal already medal in her pocket after the individual tournament, Hayme still had some pressure on her shoulders, to confirm her results from the day before and to give the victory to her delegation. She succeeded with both. After a confused sequence, Hayme landed on her opponent. She didn't let the chance pass by and she pinned Alborova to give the fourth point to France. The juniors being world champions now, after their elders became Olympic Champions a few months ago, France confirm they are more than just a group of athletes, but definitely a real team with an incredible team spirit. It is definitely because they are united on and off the tatami that they can go way further than any other delegation for the time being. -73 kg GABA Joan-Benjamin vs SHABIKHANOV Saikhan -70 kg TURPIN Melodie vs VASILEVA Daria -90 kg DAMIER Francis vs DRANOVSKII Daniil +70 kg HAYME Coralie vs ALBOROVA Alana +90 kg SAPARBAEV Khamzat vs IAKUSHEV Dmitrii -57 kg MOKDAR Faiza vs ELKINA Natalia Bronze Medal Contests Ukraine vs Germany: With Will and a Bit of Luck, Germany Wins Bronze After more than 7 minutes of golden score, Rostyslav Berezhnyi brought the first point to Ukraine, Jano Ruebo (GER) having been penalised three times. Nataliia Chystiakova won the second point for Ukraine after defeating Friederike Stolze at -70kg, with a waza-ari score via a counterattack and the a few seconds later she pinned the German judoka for ippon. A third point for team Ukraine was not long to follow, with Tymur Valieiev winning against Fabian Kansy. Still everything was still possible as Germany had already one point, from Ukraine missing an athlete in the -57kg weight category. It was the turn of Ruslana Bulavina and Anna Monta Olek to step on the mat. The mission of the new German world champion was simple: win! She did it in style, with a first waza-ari and an osae-komi-waza for ippon. When Losseni Kone won the third point for Germany, the teams were tied 3-3. It was time to draw a category to know who the winner would be. Unfortunately for Ukraine, -57kg was drawn and Germany won the bronze medal. -73 kg BEREZHNYI Rostyslav vs RUEBO Jano -70 kg CHYSTIAKOVA Nataliia vs STOLZE Friederike -90 kg VALIEIEV Tymur vs KANSY Fabian +70 kg BULAVINA Ruslana vs OLEK Anna Monta +90 kg HALAKA Oleksii vs KONE Losseni -57 kg ... vs KONE Losseni Hungary vs turkey: Turkey Steps Onto the Podium in Olbia The first point went to Turkey, with Umalt Demirel executing a beautiful uchi-mata for ippon against Botond Toth. Szofi won all her matches today until the bronze medal match and then she did it again against Habibe Afyonlu, after the latter was disqualified for applying a forbidden technique. 1-1. Peter Safrany of Hungary is the new world champion in his category, but twice today he lost matches that he should have won, based on his level. This time Omer Aydin threw him for waza-ari and controlled the rest of the bout to bring one more point to Turkey. The third point for Turkey came straight after, with Hilal Ozturk pinning Szilvia Farkas for ippon. Richard Sipocz did not show great judo through the morning, but for a bronze medal everything is possible and he threw Munir Ertug with a massive one-handed sode-tsuri-komi-goshi. Anna Kriza could then not do anything to stop Ozlen Yildiz from scoring the last point for Turkey, to win the mixed team second bronze medal. -73 kg TOTH Botond vs DEMIREL Umalt -70 kg OZBAS Szofi vs AFYONLU Habibe -90 kg SAFRANY Peter vs AYDIN Omer +70 kg FARKAS Szilvia vs OZTURK Hilal +90 kg SIPOCZ Richard vs ERTUG Munir -57 kg KRIZA Anna vs YILDIZ Ozlem

Sports Desk ISLAMABAD (October 10, 2021):-While the last day of the individual Junior World Championships ended in apotheosis and while there is now the mixed team competition to come to definitively close the 2021 edition of the competition, Michael Tamura, IJF Sports Director in charge of the juniors, commented on a week full of lessons. But before that during the final block, the IJF President, Mr Marius Vizer and the Mayor of the city of Olbia, Mr Settimo Nizzi, were presented with a special gift from Mr Gavino Piredda, President of the organising committee of the World Judo Championships, Olbia 2021. Michael Tamura explained, "From a personal point of view, it was a huge opportunity to be here and officiate as the Sports Director. I want to give a huge thank you to the IJF President, Marius Vizer and Vladimir Barta, the IJF Head Sport Director, for giving me the opportunity and for guiding me through this very exciting and demanding job. For me, it's really a dream come true to be here. It's exciting, it's overwhelming to be part of this organisation. I love judo and my judo family. Honestly this is beyond expectations. What has been really challenging over the past months was dealing with the whole Covid situation. You can't imagine how difficult it is to bring delegations from all over the world, together here to compete. I must say that the IJF protocol is an example of good practice and of safety for everyone. To be clear, before the start of the competition, I was a bit scared, because most of the athletes had to stop competing and even training during Covid. Delegations were isolated, so I didn't know what to expect in terms of level, but you saw, during the week, that the judo was incredibly strong and dynamic. This is a great sign, showing that our judo family never surrendered when faced with the pandemic. I am so proud of everyone. You know, months ago, nobody would have imagined what we went through and still today nobody can tell exactly where we are going. What is sure is that judo in Olbia proved to be doing really well. As I'm also in charge of Judo Canada, I can tell you that we are still struggling, because it's different in every province. Over there, as well, we are working hard and the IJF gave us a great example and brought us hope. To summarise, I am a happy Sport Director. I am happy about what I saw and how it went and I'm really looking forward to watching the mixed team event. This shows how much our judo community is united." -78kg: Golden Series for Anna Monta Olek Anna Monta Olek (GER) and Real Van Heemst (NED) qualified for the first final of the fourth day of competition at the Junior World Championships. For both it presented a potentially very special moment, since it could be Germany’s first gold medal in Olbia and for Van Heemst it would be a great confirmation of the good form of the Dutch delegation which has already won one gold and one silver medal. Whatever the results would be, the two athletes dominated the preliminary rounds with consistency and concentration. Olek and Van Heemst knew one another quite well already. They met a few weeks ago during the Junior European Championships, in the final and the German judoka won. What would the results be this time? Anna Monta Olek said, "It was the same final as the European Championships. We are now starting to know each other so before the final I said to myself, ‘do exactly the same as last time.’ I did it and it worked. On top of that, Germany got a bronze. What a superb final day!" The second German competitor of the category, Raffaela Igl, was also present in the final block. She faced Yelyzaveta Lytvynenko (UKR) for a place on the podium and after a nice piece of groundwork pinned down her opponent for ippon and the bronze medal. In the second bronze medal contest, Liz Ngelebeya (FRA) was opposed to Eliza Ramos (BRA). With less than one minute to go, Ngelebeya scored waza-ari and seemed in a good position to win but a few seconds later Eliza Ramos also scored with an o-soto-gari for waza-ari. It was time for golden score, in a match that was more undecided than ever. It was eventually Ramos who scored the second and liberating waza-ari to win the bronze medal. Final OLEK Anna Monta (GER) vs VAN HEEMST Yael (NED) Bronze Medal Contests IGL Raffaela (GER) vs LYTVYNENKO Yelyzaveta (UKR) NGELEBEYA Liz (FRA) vs RAMOS Eliza (BRA) Final Results 1. OLEK Anna Monta (GER) 2. VAN HEEMST Yael (NED) 3. IGL Raffaela (GER) 3. RAMOS Eliza (BRA) 5. LYTVYNENKO Yelyzaveta (UKR) 5. NGELEBEYA Liz (FRA) 7. DOLGILEVICA Una (LAT) 7. PARAGULGOVA Madina (KAZ) -100kg: This Time It's Gold for Sulamanidze Uzbekistan and Georgia are two major players on the World Judo Tour, so finding competitors coming from those two countries was not really a surprise. The whole morning session was dominated by the two judoka, Sukhrob Rajabov (UZB) Ilia Sulamanidze (GEO), who moved a lot of weight to clear the patch in front of them. We had to wait until the last minute to see the first score of the final, when Ilia Sulamanidze executed a perfect okuri-ashi-barai. Already the winner of several World Judo Tour medals, of the senior world championships bronze medal in Budapest this year and a former junior world silver medallist, 2021 is his year to become the new junior world champion too. Ilia Sulamanidze said, "Before the final my coach was talking a lot and I said, ‘don’t worry, I’m ready.’ I started slowly and after 2 minutes I started to push. Then I threw just as I expected." The first bronze medal was disputed between Viktor Adam (SVK) and Matvey Kanikovsiy (RUS) and it was the Russian who scored the first waza-ari and kept dominating the match before scoring a superb ippon with ashi-guruma to seal the deal. Another Uzbek competitor was also present in the final block: Utkirberk Toroboyev. He qualified for the second bronze medal contest, to fight against German Kilian Kappelmeier and during a tough match scored two waza-ari to win what was still the first medal of the Uzbek team before the final took place. Final RAJABOV Sukhrob (UZB) vs SULAMANIDZE Ilia (GEO) Bronze Medal Contests ADAM Viktor (SVK) vs KANIKOVSKIY Matvey (RUS) TUROBOYEV Utkirbek (UZB) vs KAPPELMEIER Kilian (GER) Final Results 1. SULAMANIDZE Ilia (GEO) 2. RAJABOV Sukhrob (UZB) 3. KANIKOVSKIY Matvey (RUS) 3. TUROBOYEV Utkirbek (UZB) 5. ADAM Viktor (SVK) 5. KAPPELMEIER Kilian (GER) 7. SAPARBAEV Khamzat (FRA) 7. JAPARIDZE Mikheil (GEO) +78kg: Coralie Shows Mastery to Win Gold Marit Kamps of the Netherlands was not really a surprise, as she arrived as the top seed here in Olbia. She joined Coralie Hayme of France in the final. Actually the French judoka was seeded number two and so this was not a surprise either, in a category where athletes are more and more showing incredible physical and technical capabilities and a great ability to throw. The least that can be said is that Coralie Hayme dominated the final. Never really in danger, she controlled the kumi-kata perfectly, pushing Kamps to be penalised twice and at the right moment, the French fighter executed a low tai-otoshi to score waza-ari, one she kept until the final gong, for a well deserved junior world title. Hayme's mastery at that level of competition was quite impressive. Nothing seemed to bother her and she applied the perfect tactics. Coralie Hayme said, "I was thinking too much all day long, in every contest. Before the final I said to myself, ‘be proud,’ so in order to be proud I had to give everything. I could have been more mobile but it was ok. She did what I expected before the contest. I did not want to reach golden score or count on shidos so I tried to score and I did it and now I’m proud and happy." Despite many difficulties, Venezuela is one of the countries that puts athletes in the position to win medals regularly, here with Amarantha Urdaneta, but also on the World Judo Tour. She faced Hilal Ozturk of Turkey; a country that has a strong recent history in the women's heavy weight division. In less than 45 seconds the result was known, with Ozturk scoring waza-ari from a maki-komi technique, followed with an immobilisation for ippon. Lea Fontaine, also from France, was hoping for a better finishing position, but she had to limit herself to compete for bronze against Elisabeth Pflugbeil of Germany. The same scenario occurred here as during the first bronze medal contest, with a first waza-ari from Fontaine followed by an immobilisation for ippon and a new medal for the French delegation. Final KAMPS Marit (NED) vs HAYME Coralie (FRA) Bronze Medal Contests URDANETA Amarantha (VEN) vs OZTURK Hilal (TUR) FONTAINE Lea (FRA) vs PFLUGBEIL Elisabeth (GER) Final Results 1. HAYME Coralie (FRA) 2. KAMPS Marit (NED) 3. OZTURK Hilal (TUR) 3. FONTAINE Lea (FRA)

SPORTS BULLETIN REPORT Olbia, Italy (October 8, 2021):- The third day of the 2021 Junior World Championships in Olbia ended with a good harvest from European countries which, since the start of the event, have demonstrated their power and their good preparation for this first world level event of the post-Tokyo Olympic Games era. It is a fact that the Japanese are not there, but that is their decision and it in no way detracts from the performance of the countries involved; on the contrary. After three days of competition, there were already no less than 20 medallist countries. What undoubtedly strikes the discerning eyes of all observers of these championships, whether they belong to athletes, coaches or officials, is the level of judo practised. In Olbia, of course it is a question of tactics, but it is above all and beyond everything a question of commitment and the will to throw the opponent. The juniors can be proud of their judo; it's as good as that practised by their elders. You just have to see the amount of ippon and waza-ari scores to be convinced by that. The juniors offer us a magnificent show, up to expectations, which does a lot of good and which portends some world-class World Judo Tour tournaments in the near future. It is certain that the competitors involved in Olbia will be keen to prove that they have the makings of world and Olympic heroes. This promises generational clashes of the most beautiful kind from next week, during the Grand Slam in Paris. In Zagreb, a week ago, we already underlined that the current phase is more than a phase of transition between two Olympic cycles. It is a phase of construction during which the new builders can express their full potential. Thank you to all our juniors for bringing a youthful and energetic touch to international judo and for blowing an invigorating breeze of freshness across our heads. -81kg: A Second Gold for Georgia with Sherazadishvili Georgia does not need to be presented any more when it comes to talking about judo. With world champions and Olympics champions coming from the Caucasus country, it is not a surprise to discover a new Georgian name in the final of a world championships, which today was the case of Giorgi Sherazadishvili. He faced Adam Tsechoev of Russia for the gold medal, showing the good form of the Russian delegation too, which has already won two titles in Olbia. After the first two bronze medal matches, to be reported on shortly, the final started with the same high rhythm, giving the impression that once again the match won't last four minutes. Less active than his opponent, Adam Tsechoev was penalised a first time. As this pushed him to take risks, he was countered by Sherazadishvili for waza-ari. The Georgian champion just had to control the rest of the bout to gain the junior world title. Something tells us that it's not the last time we will see Giorgi Sherazadishvili. This is the second gold medal for Giorgia in Olbia. Giorgi Sherazadishvili said, "All Georgian judoka are strong because we work hard and we help each other. We are never alone on the mat, with all of the team and a whole country supporting each judoka. There is no better motivation than that." In the first bronze medal contest, Ayan Baigazy (KAZ) opposed Eljan Hajiyev (AZE). Hajiyev quickly took the lead with a clear waza-ari that was just lacking a bit of impact to be counted as ippon. A few seconds later, everyone could feel that something was going to happen and this time it was Ayan Baigazy who scored waza-ari with a massive counterattack (te-waza) on Hajiyev's attempt to score with a sasae-tsuri-komi-ashi. It was clear that this match wouldn't reach the end and that is exactly what happened when Eljan Hajiyev performed an aerial koshi-waza technique, this time for ippon. Yesterday, Gianni Maddaloni explained that together with his son they would win the title if Bright would follow, to the letter, the plan strategised together. This almost worked, until the quarter-final, when Bright Maddaloni Nosa (ITA) lost against Eljan Hajiyev (AZE). For the Italian there was still one chance to step on the podium, when he faced Artem Bubyr (UKR) in the second bronze medal contest. Unfortunately he was quickly countered on his very first attack and then pinned down by Artem Bubyr, with the medal eventually going to Ukraine. Final SHERAZADISHVILI Giorgi (GEO) vs TSECHOEV Adam (RUS) Bronze Medal Contests BAIGAZY Ayan (KAZ) vs HAJIYEV Eljan (AZE) MADDALONI NOSA Bright (ITA) vs BUBYR Artem (UKR) Final Results 1. SHERAZADISHVILI Giorgi (GEO) 2. TSECHOEV Adam (RUS) 3. HAJIYEV Eljan (AZE) 3. BUBYR Artem (UKR) 5. BAIGAZY Ayan (KAZ) 5. MADDALONI NOSA Bright (ITA) 7. JANFAOUI Emir (FRA) 7. ABDUJALILOV Muhammadjon (TJK) -70kg: A Pure and Humble Win for Tsunoda of Spain Cadet world champion in Kazakhstan in 2019 and bronze medallist at the last European Junior Championships in Luxembourg, Ai Tsunoda Roustant (ESP) is already an accomplished junior. She also already won a bronze medal in a Grand Prix on the World Judo Tour. Today she was ready to add one important line to her prize list, as she entered the final of the -70kg category against Croatian Lara Cvjetko (CRO), who was ready to follow in the footsteps of her illustrious teammate Barbara Matic, senior world champion last June in Budapest. Being less active than Tsunoda Roustant, the Croatian competitor was penalised a first time with a shido for passivity. Unsuccessful until the last minute and a half, Tsunoda Roustant launched her own version of a reversed tsuri-komi-goshi and this time scored a waza-ari. Very confident in her capacity to control the rest of the final, Ai Tsunoda Roustant won already the second world title of her young career in pure and humble style. Ai Tsunoda Roustant said, "Yes I have won and yes I’m very happy but I made too many mistakes today; I felt them too many times. I need to solve that problem but I hope it also means that I can still progress." The first bronze medal contest saw Luana Carvalho (BRA) and Friederike Stolze (GER) competing for a medal. The alert was red when Luana Carvalho almost caught Friederike Stolze at the beginning of the match but the German competitor escaped but not the second time it happened and that’s how Carvalho secured a perfect turn-over to apply a sankaku-jime, transformed into an immobilisation for ippon and the bronze medal. Katarzyna Sobierajska (POL) and Nataliia Chystiakova Nataliia (UKR) competed for the second bronze medal. After a long sequence of observation with no score, the first one to add one waza-ari to her name was Sobierajska. It was a score that she kept alive until the final gong, to win bronze. Final CVJETKO Lara (CRO) vs TSUNODA ROUSTANT Ai (ESP) Bronze Medal Contests CARVALHO Luana (BRA) vs STOLZE Friederike (GER) SOBIERAJSKA Katarzyna (POL) vs CHYSTIAKOVA Nataliia (UKR) Final Results 1. TSUNODA ROUSTANT Ai (ESP) 2. CVJETKO Lara (CRO) 3. CARVALHO Luana (BRA) 3. SOBIERAJSKA Katarzyna (POL) 5. STOLZE Friederike (GER) 5. CHYSTIAKOVA Nataliia (UKR) 7. CZERLAU Jennifer (HUN) 7. ESPOSITO Martina (ITA) -90kg: Hungarian Safrany Concludes a Beautiful Day of Judo Following the success of Joanne Van Lieshout on day two of the Junior Worlds, the Netherlands placed another athlete in a position to win gold, with Tigo Renes facing Peter Safrany of Hungary in the final of the -90kg weight division. Peter Safrany had already had the opportunity to show his counterattack capacities and once again in the final he scored twice with what looked like his tokui-waza or preferred technique, to win the title for Hungary. It must be said that the whole final block was exceptional, as only one match went to golden score and the whole sequence was not longer than one hour and ten minutes. Peter Safrany said, "Today my ura-nage worked pretty well but I’m so tired, especially since the quarter-final. That contest was the toughest because the French guy was never tired." Russia was assured to have one more medal with both Adam Sangariev (RUS) and Egor Andoni (RUS) being qualified for the bronze medal contest. This was the first and only golden score of the final block of this third day. With athletes knowing one another so well, they could not find a simple opportunity to throw and therefore the winner was decided by the one with less penalties than the other. Bronze went to Adam Sangariev. The French athletes all showed some really great judo throughout the preliminary rounds on day three but at the end of the day, only one athlete, Maxime-Gael Ngayap Hambou, was in a position to step on to the podium, against Alex Cret (ROU). It was a really pleasant match to watch both athletes offering to the public a lot of action and scores. Alex Cret scored first but his waza-ari was downgraded. Then the French competitor scored a first waza-ari with a rolling movement, followed shortly after by a low sode-tsuri-komi-goshi for ippon and the bronze medal for Maxime-Gael Ngayap Hambou. Final RENES Tigo (NED) vs SAFRANY Peter (HUN) Bronze Medal Contests SANGARIEV Adam (RUS) vs ANDONI Egor (RUS) NGAYAP HAMBOU Maxime-Gael (FRA) vs CRET Alex (ROU) Final Results 1. SAFRANY Peter (HUN) 2. RENES Tigo (NED) 3. SANGARIEV Adam (RUS) 3. NGAYAP HAMBOU Maxime-Gael (FRA) 5. ANDONI Egor (RUS)

SPORTS REPORTER Karachi (October 7, 2021):-Pakistan Taekwondo team departs for Tehran through private airline via Doha to participate in the 31st Fajar Open, 3rd Asian Open and 10th Asian Taekwondo Club Championship. A six-man squad includes Haroon Khan, Shahzaib, Hamza Saeed, Abu Bakar, Taimoor Saeed, and coach Shahzada Mohammad Asif will be trained there under the supervision of Iran national coaches for the next 5 days. Athletes will compete in the 10th Asian Taekwondo Club Championship from October 13 to 17 in Fajar Open while Asian Open will be kicked off from October 17. Pakistan Olympic Association’s Media Advisor Asif Azeem, General Manager Combaxx Sports Zubair Macha, and officials of Sindh Taekwondo Association saw off the team at Jinnah International Airport. Pakistan’s Bronze Medalist at the 24th Asian Taekwondo Championship at Lebanon, Haroon Khan said that all guys did all preparations for these events and would try to stand on the victory spot. “The experience at Fajar Open will prove to be fruitful for next month's G-one Championship at Islamabad. All the players are full of national spirit and enthusiasm; Insha’Allah will give good results to the nation, “said Hamza Saeed. Taimoor Saeed said that the best players from Asia would be participating in this event; carrying a winning spirit. Coach Shahzada Asif said, “Our players have trained well for the competitions and will give their level best results. It should be clear that all the traveling and competition-related expenses and all support were provided by President Pakistan Taekwondo Federation, “he concluded.

SPORTS DESK Islamabad (October 7, 2021):-On the eve of the competition, President Marius Vizer had the pleasure of attending a concert of famous artists and IJF Ambassador Al Bano Carrisi, organised by the International Judo Federation. Al Bano was accompanied by his own musician and also performed together with Italian pop group Ricchi e Poveri as well as many artists from Russia, Romania and other countries. During the concert, the city mayor, the IJF President and Al Bano came together on the stage for a friendly moment where President Vizer presented Mayor Settimo Nizzi with the IJF gold medal. Junior Worlds: Viva l'Italia! It’s the first world championships organised after the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games! The Junior World Championships, Olbia 2021, delivered impressive judo throughout day one of the event. Being a top seed always offers more chances to be present in the final block of an international event. Still, this is not always a 100% guarantee, especially with the juniors who are still sometimes looking for their own judo style. Just before the start of the final block, the opening ceremony of the event took place in the presence of the Mayor of Olbia, Mr. Settimo Nizzi, the President of the Italian Judo Wrestling Karate Martial Arts Federation, Mr Domenico Falcone and the IJF President, Mr Marius Vizer. Settimo Nizzi declared, "Today is the opening of the great event that we've been waiting for, for so long. After the Veterans and Kata World Championships that were held in this city a few years ago, we are happy to welcome the international judo family to Olbia again. Judo is very popular among our population. Sport unites people. I thank the IJF President, Marius Vizer, who gave us the opportunity to host this championship. I thank the Italian Federation and Judo Sardinia for organising it. I am sure that we will have the pleasure of being part of a great competition, which will illustrate the values of the sport." Domenico Falcone said, "I am very happy to welcome you all to Olbia. This is the first world championship after the Tokyo Olympic Games and future champions will start their judo career here. Thank you to Marius Vizer for the confidence. Thank you to the Mayor of Olbia and the Sardinian authorities. Thank you to the organisers and all the volunteers. I wish you all good luck and success." Then Marius Vizer took the floor, “It’s a great moment to organise the Junior World Championships, during the time of Covid. I want to thank all participants and national federations for all their efforts. I also want to address all our consideration to the Mayor of the city of Olbia and to the Sardinian region, as well as the European Judo Union, the Italian Judo Federation and all those involved in making this event a success. Welcome to you all and I declare the 2021 Junior World Championships, Olbia, Sardinia, Italy, open." -48kg: Bravo Scutto for Italy For the host country of a world championship, securing a medal from day one is always very important. By qualifying for the -48kg final, Assunta Scutto (ITA) was able to bring a smile to the faces of the entire Italian delegation. Perhaps the hardest part remained though, against Russia's Irena Khubulova, who also qualified for the final. In less than one minute, Italy could already say that this edition of the Junior World Championships were a success, as Assunta Scutto scored a clear ippon with an osae-komi-waza technique applied on the edge of the competition area. Assunta Scutto said, "I have so many emotions that it is hard to explain. Today it was my day but I did not know that this morning. I wanted to win because it is a world title and because I’m at home. I was so nervous in the first round that it became my toughest contest. The rest was just perfect." The first bronze medal contest saw the second chance for Italy to step on the podium, with Asia Avanzato facing Anastasiia Balaban (BUL), winner of the Prague Junior European Cup in July 2021. With the bronze medal matches taking place at the beginning of the final block, Asia Avanzato (ITA) was very happy to offer the first medal to her delegation, after she scored a waza-ari with a low-o-soto-gari. It’s a good start for Italy. Rafaela Batista (BRA), silver medallist at the 2021 Pan American Junior Championships and Léa BERES (FRA), bronze medallist at the last Junior European Championships, qualified for the second bronze medal contest. 38 seconds were enough for the Brazilian athlete to win bronze after she applied a shime-waza that gave no chance to the French competitor. Final: SCUTTO Assunta (ITA) vs KHUBULOVA Irena (RUS) Bronze Medal Contests AVANZATO Asia (ITA) vs BALABAN Anastasiia (BUL) BATISTA Rafaela (BRA) vs BERES Lea (FRA) Final Results 1. SCUTTO Assunta (ITA) 2. KHUBULOVA Irena (RUS) 3. AVANZATO Asia (ITA) 3. BATISTA Rafaela (BRA) 5. BALABAN Anastasiia (BUL) 5. BERES Lea (FRA) 7. NASCIMENTO Alexia (BRA) 7. GOMEZ ANTONA Gemma Maria (ESP) -60kg: Sardalashvili Scores for Georgia   Romain Valadier Picard was the obvious favourite and top seed of the category, having won the 2021 European Championships with style and the Frenchman started very well, but he found a strong and tactical opponent with Turan Bayramov (AZE) in the quarter-final, who defeated the French judoka after the latter was penalised a third time for stepping out of the mat. The rule is clear: when you are close to the edge, you need to escape. Valadier Picard did this by attacking outside when he could have simply avoided the edge of the mat. So Turan Bayramov faced the Georgian, Giorgi Sardalashvili, in the final.   Sardalashvili won the junior world title after performing a counter attack for waza-ari, inscribing his name on the list of future Georgian heroes. Giorgi Sardalashvili said, "The secret of Georgian judo is hard work. We train and we listen to our coaches. I train with Lasha Bekauri; we have the same coach. Today I wanted to be as good as him." Disappointed by his defeat in the quarter-final, Romain Valadier Picard found the ressources to win his repechage match to enter the bronze medal contest against Yam Wolczak of Israel, which he also won with a beautiful waza-ari, scored with a precise kata-guruma. The second bronze medal contest saw Sherzod Davlatov (KAZ) and Kamoliddin Bakhtiyorov Kamoliddin (UZB) competing for a place on the podium. With a superb shoulder movement, Davlatov won the bronze medal. Final BAYRAMOV Turan (AZE) vs SARDALASHVILI Giorgi (GEO) Bronze Medal Contests VALADIER PICARD Romain (FRA) vs WOLCZAK Yam (ISR) DAVLATOV Sherzod (KAZ) vs BAKHTIYOROV Kamoliddin (UZB) Final Results 1. SARDALASHVILI Giorgi (GEO) 2. BAYRAMOV Turan (AZE) 3. VALADIER PICARD Romain (FRA) 3. DAVLATOV Sherzod (KAZ) 5. WOLCZAK Yam (ISR) 5. BAKHTIYOROV Kamoliddin (UZB) 7. SHATIRISHVILI Shakro (GEO) 7. PARCHIEV Abu-Muslim (RUS) -52kg: France Climbs on Top of the Medal Podium With Devictor Once again the host country qualified an athlete for the final, as Giulia Carna won her ticket after convincing victories against Sheily Lopez (GUA), Teresa Santos (POR), Marina Castello Diez (ESP) and Erza Muminoviq (KOS). To face her in the final was Chloe Devictor of France, who had a serious and consistant road to get there, having been seeded number two at the beginning of the day. Over-motivated by the victory of her teammate Scutto in the lower category, Carna stepped on the mat convinced that she could achieve the same feat but Devictor did not have the same opinion. During a very tactical match, the French fighter pushed her to get penalised and counterattacking her for a waza-ari, that offered the first gold medal of the championship to team France. Chloe Devictor said, "In the quarterfinal I had a very tactical match and a very physical one in the semi. The final was both tactical and physical. All day long I had tough and different styles to fight against and I felt that my opponents have studied my judo. It was hard but great. We have a good team, we are friends and we set the pace from this very first day. That means we are doing the right thing." In the first bronze medal contest Sabina Aliyeva (AZE) competed against Binta Ndiaye (SUI), who eventually won the medal. The second bronze medal contest saw Ariane Toro Soler (ESP) and Erza Muminoviq (KOS) competing for a medal. The medal went to Kosovo via Erza Muminoviq, who might be one of the next judo stars from her small country.

SPORTS DESK Islamabad (October 5, 2021):-The World Juniors Judo Championships will take place from 6th to 10th October in Olbia, Itly. For five days the best juniors, 495 in total, from 72 countries, will compete at the Geopalace for the supreme title of Junior World Champion, a title that counts in the career of young athletes. As President Vizer stated in his welcome letter to all delegations, "Our junior judoka have suffered a great deal through the last year and a half, navigating a pandemic and doing all they can to continue preparing for a full life and career in judo. We are proud of all they have achieved and look forward to seeing them give of their very best in Sardinia. With just 3 years until Paris we expect that many of our elite juniors will be aiming, longer term, at using their experience in Olbia as a springboard into the senior ranks and many are likely to appear in Paris in 2024." Dr Lisa Allan, IJF Events Director, opened the official draw of the competition, "Welcome to the beautiful island of Sardinia and a special thank you to the organisers of the event and the local sponsors." Then Vladimir Barta, IJF Head Sport Director said, "Distinguished guests and participants, on behalf of President Marius Vizer, I am delighted to welcome you to Olbia. It's a very important event since we didn't have junior world championships last year. This is the most prestigious competition for the juniors." Domenico Falcone, President of FIJLKAM (Italian Judo Federation), declared, "On behalf of the Italian Judo Federation, I would like to welcome each of you to the 2021 World Judo Championships for juniors, taking place in the well known city of Olbia, that has already successfully hosted the 2016 Veteran European Championships and the 2017 Kata and Veteran World Championships. It is an honour for my Federation to organise this event, despite the difficult moments caused by the world pandemic. It’s such an important event, that will represent the first challenging step for the athletes who will be involved on the route to Paris 2024. I wish all the participants an excellent experience, a lot of luck to achieve their goals and the possibility to enjoy these days near the beautiful beaches of the Mediterranean Sea. Finally, I would like to thank the International Judo Federation for the confidence shown with the assignment of the event and the local authorities for the support provided to the organisers." Florin Daniel Lascau, IJF Head Refereeing Director, underlined the fact the best referees in the world were appointed to officiate for the duration of the championships, to guarantee the fairness of the event, while Michael Tamura, IJF Sport Director, took the lead of the technical part of the draw for the first time since the Judo Canada President was appointed to the IJF Executive Committee last June. "I was a keen to take care of the technical part of the draw with appropriate consideration for its smooth delivery and making sure all details were correct. It represents a lot. I didn't want to make any mistakes," said Mr Tamura, before adding, "I am happy that everything went well and I am so grateful to the IJF and President Vizer for giving me the chance to be part of this event in such a way."

SPORTS BULLETIN REPORT Libson, Portugal (October 2, 2021):-The Veteran and Kata World Championships will be held in Lisbon in Portugal from October 21 to 26, 2021 for the veterans while October 26 and 27 for the kata. Denis Weisser Is Optimistic About the Veterans World Championships The Veterans World Judo Championships will take place in Lisbon from 21st to 26th of October. More than 400 participants are registered. As expected, the largest participation comes from the European countries, with 217 athletes, including the host country Portugal that has registered 14 judoka so far. Veterans and Kata Worlds FAQ (COVID) The Veteran and Kata World Championships are fast approaching. They will be held in Lisbon in Portugal from 21st-26th October for the veterans and 26th-27th for the kata. WJD 2021: Solidarity The great annual educational gathering of the judo family, based on judo values, is approaching. On 28th October 2021, millions of judoka across the planet will meet physically and or digitally, to celebrate World Judo Day 2021. This year it is the theme of 'SOLIDARITY' which has been chosen and which will guide all the actions that will be carried out. Erasmus SchoolJudo.EU to Create a Better Society Giving judo lessons in schools and passing your experiences to a future generation tells us that judo means more than just a sport. Children need to be supported pedagogically so they can grow into well balanced individuals.