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Michael Korrel is king in Baku as Azeri Elmar Gasimov falls flat

Michael Korrel is king in Baku as Azeri Elmar Gasimov falls flat

12 Mar 2017 15:30
by Mark Pickering - IJF
IJF Media Team / International Judo Federation

Dutchman Michael Korrel of the Netherlands is on a roll in 2017 having matured into being a consistent international performer for his country. Korrel, 23, controlled the contest against Rio 2016 Olympic silver medallist Elmar Gasimov of Azerbaijan but golden score was still required to separate the two.

Gasimov could barely stand up and Korrel was sucking on air as the former was penalised for passivity after four minutes of added time. Gasimov who’s nickname is the King, was not a king at home this time.

In the first semi-final Gasimov bested former world champion Elkhan Mammadov (AZE) in an all-Azeri clash. While the crowd and the judoka would have rathered that the teammates had met in the final they had to go head-to-head to decide who would represent Azerbaijan in the final. With four seconds left and no scores registered the veteran Mammadov was reprimanded for the third and final time to lose out and move into the bronze medal contest.

In the second semi-final Korrel saw off Baku Grand Slam 2016 silver medallist Cirjenics Miklos (HUN) by a waza-ari to seal a place in the final.

The first bronze medal was won by Cirjenics who prevailed against Rome European bronze medallist Peter Paltchik (ISR) by ippon at the halfway point.          

The second bronze medal was won by 35-year-old Mammadov against Ulaanbaatar Grand Prix winner Zelym Kotsoiev (AZE). The 18-year-old was given a third shido to hand the win to his countryman.

Michael Korrel is now the number two of the World Ranking list, Elmar Gasimov moved up to number again passing Cyrille Maret (FRA) at place three.

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