Some outstanding displays of technical prowess in the Croatian capital with the Hungarian anthem ringing out at the close of proceedings
ADVERTISEMENTThe second day of the Zagreb Grand Prix 2017 kicked off with a special visit from the President of the Republic of Croatia, the country’s first female leader, Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic.
She got things to a start announcing:
“I welcome all the teams, all the players, all the coaches to Zagreb, Croatia and I wish them all the success, all the best.”
Under 71kg men’s final
Rustam Orujov of Azerbaijan gets our man of the day title. In the under 73kg final, he took on Tommy Macias, and won the gold in stunning fashion, throwing the Swede and scoring judo’s equivalent of a knockout, the ippon.
The world silver medalist never had an air of second best about him in Zagreb, and got his flag flying highest of them all.
This gold medal win here will hopefully have made up for his second place finish last time round in Budapest.
Orujov told reporters:
“After the world championships, I was a bit disappointed with my performance, that’s why I came here, for the gold medal. My preparation was good and I’m really happy to come away with the gold!”
Woman of the day
In the all Japanese final she powered past Megumi Tsugane by way of two Waza Ari scores, the second highest score a judoka can get. The first was a formidable Uchi Mata, and the second a spectacular Seoi Nage.
Women’s under 70kg final
Brazil took the other women’s gold in the under 70kg category when Barbara Timo took France’s Fanny-Estelle Posvite by surprise.
As the final minute approached, Timo dropped underneath her opponent to grab the winning score, and take home her first IJF World Tour gold in 4 years.
Moment of the day
Ungvari of Hungary took on France’s Allardon in the last match of the day, the under 81kg final. This was our moment of the day.
Ungvari dominated proceedings, with a dizzying combination of attacks, before quickly transitioning to the ground where he applied an ippon scoring strangle in what was an unparalleled technical display of Judo.
Using his opponents lapel to apply the pressure on the neck, he forced the French challenger to submit.
And so the day ended with the Hungarian national anthem.