Dutch final with freed winner Margit de Voogd

The first known final of the day of the Grand Slam in Abu Dhabi was the U70 kg between the two Dutch judoka Margit De Voogd and Hilde Jager. Already on the podium in Tashkent this season, De Voogd thus offered herself a medal guarantee and what's more is that it would be gold or silver, her best result to date no matter what.

With two medals in grand slam and two in grand prix, Jager is slightly more experienced than her teammate but for her too a victory or a second place would be a first. The final between the two champions was therefore announced to be very tight and undecided.

In the final, the two judoka knew each other perfectly, so we could expect a close match. Although it was the case at the beginning, it was finally Margit De Voogd who took the upper hand by applying an unstoppable armlock, forcing Hilde Jager to submit.

To reach the final, Margit De Voogd had beaten the number one seed, Lara Cvjetko (CRO), world silver medallist in 2022 behind her compatriot and now reigning Olympic champion Barbara Matic, who has not yet returned to competition after her summer coronation at the Paris 2024 Games. Hilde Jager defeated Ellen Froner (BRA) in the semi-final.

The first contest for the bronze medal was between Andela Violic (CRO) and Ellen Froner (BRA). Violic controlled the whole bout, scoring a waza-ari with a combination o-uchi-gari-uchi-mata to win the bronze medal.

Samira Bock (GER) and Lara Cvjetko (CRO) faced off for the second bronze medal and once again the victory went to Croatia after Lara Cvjetko scored a waza-ari with uchi-mata.

Great relief for Margit de Voogd who wasn't always supported and without pressure she shows to be an asset U70kg for the Dutch and can compete for a place at the major events next year.