Japanese stars shine on Day 1 of the Tokyo Grand Slam

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Japanese stars shine on Day 1 of the Tokyo Grand Slam  Day 1 in Tokyo delivered top-level judo as Koga, Murao, Abe, Sulamanidze, Omori, Endovitskii and Kaju all claimed gold. With several all-Japan finals and world champions in action, the event opened in spectacular fashion. A powerful start to the 2025 Tokyo Grand Slam.  READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2025/12/06/japanese-stars-shine-on-day-1-of-the-tokyo-grand-slam  Subscribe to our channel. Euronews is available on Dailymotion in 12 languages

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00:00Welcome to Japan, the home of Judo. It's day one of the Park 24 Group 2025 Tokyo Grand Slam

00:06in the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium. With six reigning world champions today,

00:11the stage was set for an incredible day of action.

00:15At under 48 kilograms, Sachio Yoshino faced Wakana Koga in the first all-Japanese final.

00:21A yuko score into a hold down gave Koga Japan's first gold medal of the tournament.

00:26She was awarded the gold by IJF Vice President Mr. Obaida Lanzi.

00:34The under 90 kilogram final saw local hero and current world champion Sanchiro Murao take the gold

00:40medal against teammate Goki Tajima. Murao held nothing back, scoring Ippon to claim top spot.

00:48He was awarded his medal by IJF Vice President Dr. Laszlo Tott.

00:52At under 52 kilograms, Uta Abe had a closely fought contest against teammate Nakano Tsubone.

01:02A yuko score saw Abe clinch the victory.

01:07It's a very important competition for next year's selection for the worlds and for the Olympic Games.

01:12IJF Ambassador Her Imperial Highness Princess Tomohito of Mikasa awarded the medals.

01:21The under 100 kilogram final saw Ilya Sulemanidze of Georgia face home favorite Dota Arai of Japan.

01:28A beautifully executed Tsio Toshi earned gold for the Georgian.

01:32The medals were awarded by Georgia Minister of Sport Mr. Shalva Gogoladze.

01:52In another all Japanese final, Akari Omori overcame Momotamaoki in a closely fought technical battle for under 57 kilogram glory.

02:05She was awarded the gold medal by IJF EC member and Kodokan President Mr. Haruki Weimura.

02:12At plus 100 kilograms, Valerie Endovitsky of Russia produced an incredible buzzer beater

02:17against home favorite Hyoga Ota of Japan to snatch a dramatic victory.

02:24He was awarded his medal by IJF General Treasurer Mr. Nasser Altamimi.

02:32Haruka Kaju won the last all Japanese final of the day.

02:38A well-timed transition after a yuko score into a hold down showed just why Kaju is the current world champion at under 63 kilograms.

02:47She was awarded the gold medal by IJF Head Sport Director Mr. Vladimir Barter.

02:54Day one delivered from start to finish. We'll see you tomorrow for day two.

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