News
Home » Judo news
The latest Judo News offered by JudoInside.com
Henk Grol stuns to second Paris gold with 9 year gap
9 Feb 2020 22:50
World number seven Henk Grol of the Netherlands ripped up the script and forced the rows of journalists to rewrite their fleeting headlines after beating World Judo Masters bronze medallist Kageura Kokoro (JPN) to win heavyweight gold. It was in 2011 that Henk Grol captured the Paris gold but then in his class U100kg. Aged 34 he seems to be on course for a place in Tokyo.
Kageura handed French giant Teddy Riner his first loss in a decade in 154 contests in round three and seemed on course for gold only for Dutchman Grol to claim the spoils and to take some of the shine off the Japanese heavyweight’s famous win over the 10-time world champion.
Double Olympic bronze medallist Grol claimed his first IJF gold medal since winning the 2018 Osaka Grand Slam by catching a shell-shocked Kageura with his trademark ashi-waza as a ko-uchi-gari floored the history-making Japanese who endured the most eventful day of his career to say the least. Grol revived his Tokyo 2020 Olympic bid after teammate and top seed Roy Meyer (NED) finished seventh as the unfancied 34-year-old veteran fell to his knees and kissed the tatami after his score was upgraded from waza-ari to ippon upon a video review.
In the first semi-final Grol profited from a wasteful outing by Zagreb Grand Prix winner Gela Zaalishvili (GEO) who was guilty of being passive and was reprimanded for the third and final time with 27 seconds remaining. In the second semi-final double Olympic bronze medallist Rafael Silva (BRA) lost out against Kageura by a waza-ari score after 31 seconds of golden score.
The first bronze medal was won by world number 25 Andy Granda (CUB) who downed Brazilian man-mountain Silva after two minutes of golden score with an o-uchi-gari for a medal-winning waza-ari score which reenergised the crowd ahead of the men’s +100kg final.
The second and last bronze medal contest saw Zaalishvili lose his concentration on the ground and Osaka Grand Slam gold medallist Inal Tasoev (RUS) showed his experience by taking full advantage as he applied an armlock for ippon.
Related judoka and events
Related Judo Photos
Related Judo News
Teddy Riner back on gold course after fourth Masters title
At the last day of the Doha World Judo Masters the heavyweight came in action with a top field and the eyes are all on Big Teddy t see if he can regain his dominance of the last decade. Despite a slip in Paris, the big man from France was poised to win his fourth Masters title, but enough competition in Doha for him. Riner lost twenty kilos and showed the desire to be the undisputed number one again. Read more
Paris Grand Slam Review
The Paris Gram Slam always meets the expectations. Each year it is guaranteed fireworks. The French know how to create an amazing environment, supported by their locals and enjoying themselves in every match. Besides great ippons and unforgettable contests, the Paris Grand Slam always brings huge surprises and this year was not an exception. Read more
Hisayoshi Harasawa knocks on the door for Olympic gold
Olympic silver medallist Harasawa Hisayoshi (JPN) was crowned the World Judo Masters heavyweight champion after the eagerly-awaited +100kg final could not take place because Olympic and world champion Lukas Krpalek (CZE) was ruled out due to back pain. Harasawa is seen as Japan’s leading heavyweight and the current front-runner for the Tokyo berth but April’s All Japan Openweight Championships will have a bearing on the selection for next summer. Read more
Guram Tushishvili destroyed 4 opponents within 5 minutes
Guram Tushishvili again proved to be the strongest judoka in the world. He keeps growing and with by retaining his European title, the Georgian is lined up for more success at the World Championships. The European competitors seemed to dominate in the world’s heavyweight category. Read more
New dynamics spice up heavyweight category
The 2015 edition of the European Games in Baku was won by Dutchman Henk Grol in the final against Lukas Krpalek. In fact not many people remember it was U100kg. Both big boys stepped up rather easily to this level and again reached the highest level in the plus category. In fact it also made their life much easier. No more health problems, dropping weight, days of frustration, the body that protests against so many sacrifices. Read more
187
days
Judo birthday
Lieke Van Kins (NED)
22 years
| Result | City | Date |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | Doha | 13 Jan |
| 1 | Prague | 2020 |
| 1 | Budapest | 2020 |
| 1 | Perth | 2019 |
| 1 | Wuhan | 2019 |
| Result | City | Date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Düsseldorf | 2020 |
| 1 | Tokyo | 2019 |
| 1 | Tokyo | 2019 |
| 1 | Fukuoka | 2019 |
| 1 | Düsseldorf | 2019 |
Partners
