Adam Sangariev Finds the Decisive Ippon Late in the -100 kg Final

Adam Sangariev was the standout name in the -100 kg division, sealing gold with a late Ippon in a hard-fought judo final against Giovani Ferreira. The category built toward a clash between two athletes who had looked sharp and composed all day, and the final delivered exactly that tension.

Sangariev’s route to the title was built on control and consistency. He opened by beating world silver medallist Kyle Reyes, then moved past Georgios Kroussaniotakis with Ippon in just one minute before ending the run of home judoka Huang Fuchun. In the semi-final, he stopped Karl Baathe of Sweden, who had put together one of the strongest European performances in the category.

Ferreira arrived in the final from the opposite half of the draw after a similarly strong day. The Brazilian defeated Shen Yijie, then Piotr Kuczera, before denying Idar Bifov a place in the gold-medal match. Round after round, he showed an ability to adjust his approach depending on the opponent in front of him.

That set up a final with real intensity. Both judoka pushed the pace and neither wanted to give ground. Penalties came on both sides, but the match was defined more by their willingness to engage than by caution.

For most of the contest, it felt as if one small opening would decide everything. That moment finally came in the closing stages. With less than thirty seconds left, Sangariev found the attack he had been searching for and threw Ferreira for Ippon to take the title.

The winning moment came right at the end.

After the final, Sangariev said he had not felt perfectly well beforehand but kept faith in his judo. He also said his focus is on qualifying for his first Olympic Games.

Behind the gold-medal contest, the bronze-medal matches added more quality to a deep -100 kg field. Huang Fuchun responded to the pressure of competing at home in impressive style. Against Iosif Simin, he scored Waza-ari with a powerful Uchi-mata and immediately continued into osaekomi to secure Ippon and bronze for the host nation.

The second bronze-medal contest ended more quickly in tactical terms. Idar Bifov took the lead against Karl Baathe with a well-executed sutemi-waza for Waza-ari and then controlled the rest of the match confidently to stay on the podium.

For Europe, Baathe’s run still deserves attention even without a medal. The Swedish judoka reached the semi-finals and earlier defeated top seed Anton Savytskiy of Ukraine, showing he could challenge some of the biggest names in the draw.

In the end, though, the day belonged to Sangariev. In a category full of strong performances and shifting momentum, he stayed calm, kept the pressure on, and produced the one score that mattered most when the clock was almost out.

Source: IJF.org

Image source: IJF / International Judo Federation