-52 kg: Odette Giuffrida on Top of the World

Giuffrida may have already been beaten by the Uzbek but in Abu Dhabi she was ready for the rematch.

Going back to the top seed, in Keldiyorova’s first contest she threw Puljiz (CRO) for ippon with an ashi-waza, in her second Fiora (ARG) was throw twice with seoi-otoshi. In the quarter-final The Uzbek armlocked Binta Ndiaye in just 45 seconds and advanced to the semi-final to face Shiraishi of Japan, unseeded. Shiraishi lasted just 38 seconds before being rolled through a perfect seoi-otoshi for ippon.

Keldiyorova took silver in Doha a year ago and to be back in the final brought her a massive smile. She already knows she can win, but believing it and actually doing it are two different things and her opponent in the final block is one of the most experienced in world judo. Two-time Olympic medallist Odette Giuffrida had reached her first senior world final and was not going to hand the gold to Keldiyorova on a platter.

The number two seed, Amandine Buchard was not looking at her very best, struggling to draw on the energy needed to convince her opponents of her dominance. She pulled through the rounds though, showing great resilience and mental aptitude for continuing under pressure. The kata-guruma that everyone knows so well was her loyal servant catching opponents one and two in tricky situations.

Against Ballhaus (GER) in the quarter-final, Buchard was really under pressure, two shido warnings apiece but the German gripping hard and making life difficult for the Frenchwoman. However, a huge uchi-mata attack from Ballhaus deep into golden score was met with a beautifully timed sukashi for ippon, a touch of brilliance when Buchard really needed it.

The first bronze medal was fought for by Pupp (HUN) and Buchard. The Hungarian had looked good against Asvesta (CYP) and Easton (AUS) but slipped up against Shiraishi in their quarter-final, thrown for waza-ari with a tidy little ko-uchi-gari in golden score.

Going into the medal fight, Pupp must have felt the pressure weighing down on her, the wieght of 6 previous losses against the French Olympic and world medallist. Knowing there is risk is not the same as avoiding it though and Buchard scored waza-ari almost at half time with her kata-guruma and held on to that lead until the end of time. That loss hurt the hard-working Hungarian especially just ten weeks before the Games but against Buchard a fifth place is respectable.

The second bronze medal was ready to fly to Germany with Ballhaus or to Japan with 22 year old Hibiki Shiraishi. The German was impressively focused throughout, not letting her strategy quiver at any threat from her opponent. She threw with an inspired makikomi with 1 minute and 48 seconds left on the clock and although there was danger, she managed every threat maturely and clamly. Focus was her secret weapon today and she could hardly believe it when rewarded with the bronze medal.

In the final, a final between strategists, between coaching teams with a lot of experience and a lot of heart, there were possibilities for both athletes but each attack was met with a response to dampen the threat. At just about half time, Giuffrida found the ashi-waza sweet spot and caught Keldiyorova’s advancing foot, scoring waza-ari with de-ashi-harai. The Uzbek did everything within her power to come nack into the contest but the Italian’s real magic is almost always found in her fight management. She’s skilled, really skilled at holding on to a lead, one of the world’s best at it.

Odette Giuffrida, already a European champion, a double Olympic medallist and a senior world bronze medallist, now has her first global title. In only may and just ten weeks ahead of the Olympic Games, she can already say that 2024 is an incredible year.