Small Shinji Kido delivers big performances for Japan

Paris Grand Slam bronze medallist Kido Shinji of Japan clinched the U60kg gold medal in Tyumen with a win against Olympic bronze medallist Felipe Kitadai of Brazil. Kido, just 23 has showed his worth at the Grand Slam medal with a bronze on home soil last year also on his resume but won his first gold medal at this level by outlasting his opponent. Kitadai received a third shido with 90 seconds left to separate him from Kido who had earned two shido penalties in an evenly-contested bout which saw repeated uchi-mata attacks from the Japanese fighter failing to trouble the scoreboard.

In the first semi-final Kitadai dismissed 21-year-old Orenburg European Cup bronze medallist Savva Karakizidi (RUS) with a yuko and waza-ari sending him through to the final. In the second semi-final Kido was superior to former European u23 Championships runner-up Robert Mshvidobadze (RUS) by a yuko score which rendered his two shido penalties as irrelevant.

The first bronze medal was won by 19-year-old Junior World Championships bronze medallist Oshima Yuma (JPN) who issued Mshvidobadze with a second successive defeat. OSHIMA turned up the temp in the final minute and made his move with 43 seconds left as he scored ippon with a sasae-tsurikomi-ashi. The second bronze medal was claimed by Budapest Grand Prix bronze medallist Ilgar MUSHKIYEV (AZE) who produced a waza-ari to defeat home hope Karakizidi with the only score of the contest.