America’s Kayla Harrison produced a stunning performance to down Anamari Velensek in the final of the under 78 kilo category at the Judo Grand Prix
ADVERTISEMENTAmerica’s Kayla Harrison produced a stunning performance to down Anamari Velensek in the final of the under 78 kilo category at the Judo Grand Prix in Dusseldorf on Sunday.
After a relatively slow start, the 24-year-old stepped it up a gear to seal the win thanks to a late yuko.
In the over 78 kilo class, Kanae Yamabe proved too strong for Tunisia’s Nihel Cheikh Rouhou in the showpiece match.
The Japanese sensation looked in great shape and forced her opponent to concede an early shido penalty before delighting the crowd with a superb ippon.
In the men’s event, Georgia’s Varlam Liparteliani confirmed his status as world number one with a convincing win over Kazbek Zankishiev in the under 81 kilo category.
The 26-year-old World silver medallist and former European champion got off to a strong start and triumphed after immobilising his opponent for ippon.
Japan’s Ryunosuke Haga continued his good run of form with a hard fought-win over Ramadan Darwish in the under 100 kilo final.
Haga, who recently won the European Open in Rome, was made to battle hard throughout the contest but eventually won by ippon.
Guham Cho and Tuvshinbayar Naidan took bronze while Ryu Shichinohe reigned supreme in the over 100 kilo category.
Teddy Riner’s main rival outclassed Sven Heinle of Germany in the early stages of the tournament and carried his momentum into the showpiece match to down fellow countryman Takeshi Ojitani.