The top seed, Khazar Heydarov (UKR), a 2024 world cadet medal and the current European cadet and EYOF titles in his poscket, might have been pegged to pass Gabit on his way to the final but it wasn’t to be. The young Kazakh beat Heydarov on penalties after 7 minutes on contest time and then threw the Japanese entry for ippon to reach the final. This was a meteoric success for Gabit, even before the final block began.
Final: Rassulkhan Gabit (KAZ) vs Roman Semyrozum (CAN)
This was a dynamic final from beginning to end. Either judoka could have taken the win at any time but with great skill in defence from both, eventually it was final decided by penalties. Rassulkhan Gabit is the new cadet world champion at -60 kg. Roman Semyrozum had a fantastic day and his silver medal is already being enjoyed by his team.
After the final, Rassulkhan Gabit said, “I cannot express my feelings, I am that excited. I am very thankful for the Kazakh people and for all my brothers. And I have the best coach in the world. Without him, I would not be celebrating today.”
Bronze medal contest: Davaabaatar Amgalanbaatar (MGL) vs Enkhtur Jamiyan (MGL)
In this all-Mongolian medal match, Amgalanbaatar was the first to score. A yuko was his reward for a little te-waza that knocked his teammate off balance. Enkhtur Jamiyan wasn’t willing to let that be the end of his day though and shortly after the yuko arrived he threw with a massive uki-goshi for ippon.
Bronze medal contest: Ahmet Baubek (KAZ) vs Daichi Tashiro (JPN)
Ahmet Baubek reach the final block from his place at 20th in the world; already a great achievement. Tashiro had no ranking at all, this being his international debut. A win for him would also be impressive, to say the least.
It was indeed the Japanese judoka who put the first score on the board, a yuko. Baubek remained positive and chased his opponent’s lead strategically and intelligently. He never stopped coming forward and against the odds managed to equipped inside the last minute.
Tashiro had been somewhat protective of his early score leading to him picking up two penalties before Baubek earned his own yuko. This meant that going into golden score, it was the young Kazakh who had the upper hand. He used his advantage expertly and kept the pressure heavy. Eventually, after almost eight minutes of contest time, Ahmet Baubek won the bronze medal.
Final (-60 kg)
Bronze Medal Fights (-60 kg)
Final Results (-60 kg)
