Record fourth Masters title for Mongolia’s world champion Dorjsuren

World champion Dorjsuren Sumiya (MGL) won a record fourth World Judo Masters title as she triumphed in a Worlds final rematch against Tokyo Grand Slam winner Yoshida Tsukasa (JPN). Four athletes have won the Masters three times. Dorjsuren is now on top of them.

Mongolia’s second female world champion Dorjsuren, 26, who took silver at the Rio 2016 Olympics, has now won the Masters in 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2017 and stands alone in judo as a four-time Masters gold medallist. All members of the world’s top eight were present in the -57kg category but it was the familiar foes of Dorjsuren and Yoshida who progressed to the final. The Japanese led their head-to-head record 3:1 coming into the final with her sole defeat coming in Budapest at this year’s Worlds final. After an even four minutes of regulation time, a second shido for Yoshida decided the final and the fate of the -57kg gold medal as Mongolia’s latest hero held four fingers in the air to signal her record-breaking Masters winning feat.

In the first semi-final Dorjsuren beat 22-year-old Paris Grand Slam winner Kwon Youjeong (KOR) by a waza-ari score after two and a half minutes of golden score. In the second semi-final Yoshida trapped Olympic champion Rafaela Silva (BRA) with a kuzure-tate-shiho-gatame for 20 seconds and ippon.

The first bronze medal was won by world bronze medallist Helene Receveaux (FRA) as the world number four beat the world number three Silva. Receveaux won with an uchi-mata on the edge of the area to open France’s medal account and add to their growing medal haul at the World Judo Masters 2017.                

The second bronze medal was won by Kwon who emphatically bested world bronze medallist Nekoda Smythe-Davis (GBR) with an osoto-gari for ippon.

Read all the news about the IJF World Masters in St. Petersburg.