After the Grand Slam in Mongolia, the World Judo Tour continues in China, where the Qingdao Grand Prix is taking place this weekend.
David Štarkel was the first Slovenian representative to step onto the tatami. In Ulaanbaatar, he had some bad luck with the draw and finished the competition in the first round after a defeat to former world and European champion Giorgi Sardalashvili.
This time, the 12-time consecutive Slovenian national champion was free in the first round of the under 60 kilogram category, before facing the category’s sixth seed, Sukhbat Byambasuren, in the second round. Although the Mongolian judoka took the lead with two yukos, Štarkel made full use of his experience, catching his opponent in a hold-down just before the end of the contest and keeping him under control for 20 seconds to secure the win.
In the round of 16, the Slovenian judoka faced Kazakhstan’s Talgat Orynbassar. After just over a minute of fighting, Štarkel took the lead with a well-executed foot technique for waza-ari. Shortly afterwards, he found himself caught in a hold-down, but quickly escaped, meaning his opponent received only a yuko for five seconds of control. Midway through the contest, Štarkel completed the job with a counter-throw, sending the Kazakh judoka onto his back once again. That was enough for a second waza-ari and a victory that earned him a place in the quarter-finals.
There, David faced Ayub Bliev, bronze medallist at last year’s World Championships and silver medallist at the European Championships, who also won the Dushanbe Grand Slam just over a month ago. The 29-year-old Russian proved too strong for Štarkel on this occasion and secured his place in the semi-finals with a hold-down after almost half the contest had elapsed.
Štarkel’s competition ended in the repechage, where he faced Ahmad Yusifov, bronze medallist at both last year’s and this year’s European Championships and winner of the Tashkent Grand Slam. After an even opening minute, the Slovenian judoka engaged in close contact at the start of the second minute, which the Azerbaijani took advantage of, finishing the contest with an attractive technique for ippon.
Štarkel, who is still waiting for his first Grand Prix medal, collected valuable qualification points for the Olympic Games in Los Angeles with two victories and a seventh-place finish in China.
Tomorrow in Qingdao, Kaja Schuster, Nika Koren and Nace Herkovič will step onto the tatami, while Metka Lobnik will compete on Sunday.
Photo: IJF - Emanuele Di Feliciantonio
