Yesterday, November 16, in Adachi (a district in northern Tokyo), competitions were held for judokas at the "Tokyo Budokan" martial arts palace.

Athletes Alina Pozdeyeva (48 kg) and Mikhail Ryabchenko (73 kg) competed in neutral status.

For Mikhail, the very first bout ended in defeat to a representative from Kazakhstan, and he was eliminated from further competition. However, Alina Pozdeyeva managed to create a sensation in her weight category, which featured six competing women.

On her path to the coveted medal, Alina first overcame Ukrainian Yelyzaveta Dydorenko with two impressive "waza-ari" techniques, and then in the semifinal, dispatched Kazakh Ayym Zhetpisbayeva with a chokehold in just 15 seconds. But her main opponent in the final was two-time Deaflympic champion María Isabel Yuitron from Mexico, facing off against the protégé of senior coach Konstantin Popov.

In the past, Alina had already lost to her twice in finals — first at the 2017 Summer Deaflympics in Samsun, Turkey, and at the 2022 World Championships in Versailles (Paris). This time, in a hard-fought battle, Alina managed to execute a "yuko" technical throw at the very beginning of the bout and maintain a minimal lead until the gong sounded.

The athlete from Chelyabinsk trains under the guidance of Rauf Valeev. Congratulations!

FOR REFERENCE:

"Waza-ari" — a score for a technical action in judo that is close to "Ippon" but does not fully meet its criteria:

The athlete executed a throw, but the opponent did not fall completely on their back;

A pin lasted from 10 to 19 seconds;

The actions were of quality but fell short in amplitude, control, or speed.

Two "Waza-ari" in one bout are equivalent to an "Ippon."

"Yuko" — a score is awarded when a throw is executed with insufficient force and speed, but the opponent falls on a large part of their back; or when a throw is executed with sufficient force or speed, but the opponent falls on only a small part of their back. A "Yuko" is also awarded for a 15-second pin.

Text: Nurlan Tazhigulov

Photo: Mikhail Sinitsyn

Translation: Daria Kudelina