Khorloodoi Bishrelt claims gold for home crowd in UAE

Gold Medal for Khorloodoi Bishrelt and the host country. A premiere to the delight of the public. The -52 kg category offered a first opportunity for the host country to please fans and judo lovers in the Emirates, with the qualification of Khorloodoi Bishrelt (UAE) for the final. To get there, after a first bye, she was opposed to Gabriela Conceicao (BRA), then the Kosovar Erza Muminoviq in the semi-final.

Her opponent in the final was one of those judoka that we see climbing the ladder little by little. Already holder of a world title in junior in 2019 and an Olympic medal (Youth Olympic Games 2018), she is also holder of 6 grand slam medals, but not yet gold.

The stakes of the final were therefore high. On the one hand, the host country could win a very nice gold medal, which could mean a lot, on the other hand, the Mongolian judoka had the possibility of adding a nice line to her list of achievements.

In the final, both judoka knew each other very well and this produced a very tight contest, with none of them able to score. This would be a tactical win, but on which side would the victory go? That was the main question. Khorloodoi Bishrelt (UAE) received one shido, while Sosorbaram Lkhagvasuren received two. It was time for golden score and Lkhagvasuren was penalised a third time for avoiding gripping the kumi-kata.

This win is the first for Khorloodoi Bishrelt and the UAE. It will for sure inspire a lot of women in the UAE and in the world to keep on competing and practicing judo at all levels.

Eliminated by the finalist Bishrelt, Erza Muminoviq (KOS), who was coached by Olympic and world champion Majlinda Kelmendi, still had the possibility of getting on the podium. For this she faced Léa Metrot (FRA) and things didn't really go the way she wanted.

It actually started pretty well for Muminoviq who pushed Metrot to be penalised twice. Then she scored a waza-ari with a double change in direction. Everything was under control, until Metrot opportunely for her grab the arm of her opponent to apply an armlock. Ippon and the bronze medal goes to France.

In the second contest for the bronze medal, Gabriela Conceicao (BRA) was opposed to Roza Gyertyas (HUN). The Brazilian judoka could not resist to the Gyertyas' shime-waza attempt. Bronze medal for Roza Gyertyas.