Seija Ballhaus takes valuanle gold in Abu Dhabi

The final for women U57kg at the Grand Slam of Abu Dhabi pitted Seija Ballhaus (GER) against Irina Zueva (IJF). it was a tough contest, with both judoka being really engaged. Seija Ballhaus' experience in the end paid off. She needed to have both of her hands on the judogi at least once to launch an attack. Zueva tried to avoid it but couldn't do it all the way through the final. That only one time, when Ballhaus had her hands placed, she launched a sode-tsuri-komi-goshi for waza-ari, enough to win the gold medal.

This is a first 100% Brazilian contest that we attended for the bronze medal between Sarah Souza and Shirlen Nascimento. It is Shirlen Nascimento who scored a waza-ari with uchi-mata to take the bronze medal.

Acelya Toprak (AZE) and Flaka Loxha (KOS) faced each other for the second bronze medal. In the golden score, Acelya Toprak countered her opponent with o-soto-gaeshi for waza-ari to win her first medal on the World Judo Tour.

Winner in Croatia a few weeks ago and especially in Paris last February after a very high-level grand slam, Faiza Mokdar (FRA) had travelled to Abu Dhabi with the firm intention of continuing to rack up victories.

Her first round against Maitha Mohamed (UAE) was a formality. Taking the upper hand over her next opponent, Irina Zueva (IJF), Mokdar seemed in control. Probably a little too much, because the control she applied to Zueva on the cervical vertebrae logically earned her a disqualification which deprived her of the next round but also of a medal quite simply.

Zueva took full advantage of this by qualifying for the final where she found in the Ballhaus family, Seija, cadet world champion in 2017, and who to this day had not yet won a medal in a grand slam. No matter the colour, this would change today.