Lavjargal Delivers Home Glory After a Marathon -73 kg Final in Ulaanbaatar

Ankhzaya Lavjargal gave Mongolia a huge Judo moment in the -73 kg division in Ulaanbaatar, winning his first grand slam gold on home tatami. The Mongolian athlete edged past Jack Yonezuka of the USA after a long and demanding final that stretched deep into golden score.

This was a category full of sharp turns from the beginning. One of the early shocks came when Makhmadbek Makhmadbekov of the UAE, considered among the favourites, went out in his opening contest. Manuel Lombardo of Italy produced a brilliant ura-nage in a tactical match to score the decisive action and send the highly ranked judoka out.

Lombardo’s run did not last much longer, though. His tournament ended in the next round, and Uranbayar Odgerel carried Mongolia’s challenge into the semi-finals. On the other side, Jack Yonezuka kept building momentum and reached a major breakthrough.

Yonezuka’s semi-final win over Odgerel sent him into his first grand slam final. It also guaranteed the American his first medal at this level. After 25 grand slam appearances before arriving in Mongolia, with a fifth place and two seventh places as his previous best results, this was a big step forward and a reminder of how persistence can finally open the door.

Lavjargal’s route to the final also carried special weight. With Olympic champion Hidayat Heydarov of Azerbaijan absent, the lower half of the draw was open, but nothing came easily. After a string of close contests, the Mongolian secured his place in the gold medal match by defeating Great Britain’s Irakli Goginashvili in a very tight semi-final.

That set up a final between two judoka both appearing in a grand slam final for the first time. Neither man gave much away. They pushed through the full four minutes at a high pace and still had to continue for more than two additional minutes in golden score.

Then came the decisive moment. Lavjargal found his chance and launched uchi-mata to throw Yonezuka, ending a fierce battle and finally releasing the noise inside the arena.

One opening was enough, and Lavjargal took it.

The win meant even more because it brought Mongolia its first gold medal of the tournament after two bronze medals. In front of a jubilant home crowd, Lavjargal turned a tense final into a memory that will stay with local fans for a long time.

There was also a European result on the podium in the first bronze medal contest. Bulgaria’s Victor Skerlev defeated Britain’s Irakli Goginashvili after golden score, adding a strong finish for Bulgaria in a division decided by fine margins.

The second bronze went to Uranbayar Odgerel of Mongolia, keeping another host athlete on the podium. In the final standings, Lavjargal took gold, Yonezuka claimed silver, and the bronze medals went to Skerlev and Odgerel.

Lavjargal later said he was happy and grateful to win his first grand slam gold in his own country, adding that the support from the crowd gave him extra energy during the long final.

Source: IJF.org

Image source: IJF / International Judo Federation