History made for UAE and a new world champion for Georgia

Baku’s National Gymnastics Arena provided the stage for history to be made as Yelyzaveta Lytvynenko became UAE’s first ever World Judo Champion. Lytvynenko looked destined to step on to the top of the women’s -78 kg podium from the very first ‘Hajime’ of the day, dominating with her range, her attack rate and her confident attitude.

Ilia Sulamanidze topped the men’s -100 kg podium with a display of gritty judo, fought with the whole of his heart throughout the day. The Georgian threw Dota Arai for a yuko in golden score after a very close contest which could have gone either way.

In a technical and tactical battle, there was no telling which way the contest would go. Prior to the World Championships, Sulamanidze and Arai have fought twice before, both wins going to the Georgian.

There was no shortage of action but the final decision took a short while to arrive. An attack from Arai appeared to have scored but upon review could be seen to have ended without his control. In fact, Sulamanidze had taken the control, driving Arai onto one hip and therefore the yuko was given to him.

“I don’t know what I feel,” said Ilia Sulamanidze. “I’ve waited so long for this day. I felt it was my score. I’m the world champion!”

Seeding, form and moments of magic convened in the women’s -78 kg category to produce a thrilling day of judo. France had their first finalist of the championship at last, while UAE had a second bite at the gold having already won a silver medal earlier in the week.

Lytvynenko’s long reach and clear confidence made her a formidable adversary for Kaila Issoufi but the Frenchwoman handled it well for the first two minutes. Then, a poorly prepared attack from Issoufi allowed Lytvynenko to unleash her full speed and power. She countered with a combination that finished with a ko-uchi-gari for a waza-ari.

Not long later, in another complicated exchange, hesitation from Issoufi put Lytvynenko back in a very strong position and she threw again, another waza-ari, this time with uchi-mata. She threw her hands to her face in disbelief.

Lytvynenko tried to catch her breath after the final, “I’m so happy. It’s difficult to describe because at the same time I’m so tired. It was a good day, definitely; I felt good all the way through it. From the wake-up to the warm-up and the fights one after the other, everything was perfect.

I still need time to realise it all. I’m happy that I won the first gold medal at a worlds for UAE. I’m happy I’m part of this great group of people. The whole team was behind me and today I’m world champion. My family was here as well so that’s another reason to be happy.”