Tanioka Battles Back in Qingdao as -63 kg Final Goes to Golden Score

Narumi Tanioka was at the heart of one of the most dramatic -63 kg stories in Qingdao, earning her first World Judo Tour gold after a tense final against Jisu Kim. In a category packed with early upsets and shifting momentum, the Japanese judoka stayed composed when it mattered most.

The day began with surprises before the medal rounds even arrived. Several established names were stopped on the way, and the route to the final looked very different in each half of the draw.

One of the standout European runs came from Croatia’s Iva Oberan. Already a five-time grand prix medallist, she built real momentum with wins over Kerem Primo, Gaetane Deberdt and Thauany David Capanni Dias. That charge eventually met Tanioka in the semi-final, where the Japanese judoka ended Oberan’s push and secured her place in the gold medal contest.

Tanioka’s own path had already been demanding. She opened against Chaimae Taibi, then defeated Ozlem Yildiz before stopping Olympic bronze medallist Laura Fazliu, one of the favourites in the field. By the time she reached the semi-final, she had already come through one of the strongest sections of the draw.

On the other side, Jisu Kim put together a sharp and convincing campaign. She beat Ji Hye Kim, Natalia Kropska and Kseniia Galitskaia, then produced one of the fastest decisive moments of the day in the semi-final. Against Yana Makretskaya, Kim needed only 57 seconds to score Ippon and book her place in the final.

The final turned on patience, nerve and a breakthrough on the ground.

The gold medal match delivered immediately. Kim nearly found the opening score with a spectacular reverse seoi-otoshi, only for Tanioka to escape by the smallest margin. Not long after, the Korean made her advantage count with a well-timed o-uchi-gari for yuko.

At that point, the pressure was fully on Tanioka. She did not rush, did not panic and kept searching for her moment. Late in normal time, she found the score she needed to level the contest and force golden score.

Extra time stayed intense for more than two minutes. Then came the decisive exchange. In ne-waza, Tanioka fought through Kim’s resistance and held her down for the required five seconds to score again and seal the first World Judo Tour gold medal of her career.

After the final, Tanioka said she was incredibly happy and felt her preparation had paid off on the tatami. She also explained that, even after going behind, she believed she had the technical tools to come back. The medal, she said, would go to her parents, who had travelled from Japan to support her.

The bronze medal contests also brought notable European results. Laura Fazliu of Kosovo controlled her match strongly, scoring Waza-ari with sasae-tsuri-komi-ashi and adding another grand prix medal to her collection. In the other bronze medal contest, Germany’s Friederike Stolze stayed aggressive despite two Shido in a scoreless match, then timed a tani-otoshi perfectly in golden score to take bronze.

For Tanioka, though, the final image was the biggest one: a comeback under pressure, a calm finish in golden score and a breakthrough gold in the -63 kg category.

Source: IJF.org

Image source: IJF / International Judo Federation