The second day of the season ends without podiums on the Italian front Grand Slam di Dushanbe 2024, an event valid for the Judo World Tour which offers vital points for the Olympic qualification ranking towards the Paris Games. The blue movement can still smile for the good performance and theexcellent fifth place in the -63 kg category for the young emerging Savita Russoafter the third place achieved yesterday by Veronica Toniolo in the -57 kg category.
The eighteen-year-old Sicilian therefore confirms her growth at senior level after the recent bronze at the European Championships in Zagreb and remains in the running to secure the continental quota for the Olympics, even if she will still have to grind out many points in the next two tournaments (Grand Slam in Astana and the Abu Dhabi World Championship) and hope for favorable results in the other weight categories to fly to France.
Russo played a high-profile match today too, defeating in order the Romanian Florentina Ivanescu by waza-ari, the Croatian Katarina Kristo (whom she had just beaten in the play-off for bronze at the European Championships) by sum of penalties after a Golden Score of over 7 minutes and the Algerian Amina Belkadi for ippon with a splendid Seoi Nage. The Italian born in 2005 then lost in the semi-final to the listed Austrian Lubjana Piovesana (first seed) and in the final to the Croatian Iva Oberan. Eliminated on debut instead Flavia Favorini (-63 kg) and Irene Pedrotti (-70 kg).
Below is the summary of the podiums of the second day of the Judo Grand Slam Dushanbe 2024:
-63 kg F
1 Piovesana (Or)
2 Liluashvili (Ain)
3 Belkadi (Alg) and Oberan (Cro)
-70 kg F
1 Polleres (Or)
2 Flower (Cro)
3 Petersen Pollard (Gbr) and Gercsak (Hun)
-73 kg M
1 Stump (Sui)
2 Khojazoda (Tjk)
3 Koibagar (Kaz) and Jumaev (Uzb)
-81 kg M
1 Hojo (Jpn)
2 Borchashvili (Or)
3 Gochilaidze (Geo) and Zhubanazar (Kaz)