-63kg Gold: Kaju (JPN)
Haruka Kaju continued with her winning ways, securing the gold medal and her 35th consecutive victory by defeating former World Champion Joanne Van Lieshout (NED). It was a penalty win but still a win nevertheless. Kaju has the distinction of being the only champion in the IJF circuit who has never been defeated.
After her final, Kaju said, “Looking ahead, the road to the Los Angeles Olympics is long. I intend to take it one tournament at a time, focusing first on winning the world championships this year. In the final, my opponent had a very strong defence system and although I maintained a solid performance, I couldn't completely finish the match with newaza. This gives me a clear area to improve moving
-70kg Gold: Tanaka (JPN)
Shiho Tanaka delivered Japan its sixth gold medal of the tournament when she defeated Aoife Coughlan (AUS). It was a tough battle and, in the end, only a yuko separated the two of them. It was from a kosoto-gari by Tanaka.
Tanaka said: “Since I came to Mongolia to collect Olympic qualification points, I wanted to make sure I keep winning my upcoming matches to firmly connect this path to the Olympics. Coming back here for the first time in three years and winning this Grand Slam for the second time makes me incredibly happy. While everyone wants to beat the World Champion, I didn't actually feel too much pressure out there; I am just really glad that I was able to stay focused, push through and thoroughly secure the victory.”
