Sanshiro Murao finally takes precious gold

Of course Sanshiro Murao won the Grand Slam in Kazan, but frankly speaking the gold medal at the mini World Championships, the Grand Slam in Paris is a wannahave. On Sunday Murao finally showed he can win big events. Although the field was devaluated, this one counts forever.

Murao won because he didn't wait, he didn't want to temporise, which is what Mehdiyev did. The Japanese, with that almost-toupee that gives him Elvis’ air, executed osoto-gari. That is another gold for Japan. He contributed to the overwhelming Japanese presence on the podia.

With Olympic champion Lasha Bekauri on holiday and world champion Nikoloz Sherazadishvili making his first steps into the top flight, a boss was wanted here, at least temporarily. There were plenty of candidates but none stood out above the rest. It was still early. Little by little the matter settled down and a neophyte and a veteran emerged. The Japanese Sanshiro Murao is becoming known but it is something recent. A world silver and a gold in a grand slam at the age of 21 sounds very good. The Azeri Mammadali Mehdiyev is like the legionnaires who conquered an empire with patience and sweat. He has been among the elite for a decade, not as a great favourite but you always have to count on him. In Paris he reached the final with the intention of stopping the feet of the young generation. This is how things were before the final.

Davlat Bobonov produced an express ippon to win the bronze against Beka Gviniashvili and the Turkish judoka Mihael Zgank made the afternoon bitter for the Frenchman, Alexis Mathieu, with the second bronze.

Japan again wins the category U90kg like last year's victory of Kenta Nagasawa. 23 Athletes in Paris though was the lowest number U90kg of the century.