IJF Media Team / International Judo Federation
The Doha IJF Judo Masters has been more than the starting gun of the judo season, because the previous analyses are over. There they fought and we saw those who were above the rest, who surprised and who disappointed. With Tel Aviv as the next stop and Tokyo in the final spotlight, Doha was a first chapter of how things are in the world of professionals. The situation U70kg is interesting enough to zoom in.
The world champion and leader of the ranking is the French judoka Marie Eve Gahié, her latest results open a range of possibilities for her opponents. She will first have to overcome Margaux Pinot who is the European Champion and still dominant over a lot of top players.
Out there, there is a lot of talent and a lot of veterans with ample capacity to give more than one dislike. There are the Dutch, frequent medalists, Van Dijke and Polling, who fight for a place in Tokyo, making them especially dangerous because they will fight with all their arsenal simply to travel to Tokyo.
The Japanese are not dominant in this category, but they should never be ruled out and, for the moment, their best assets are Ono Yoko and Arai Chizuru. Then comes the battalion of those with a lot of experience, medals and the desire to offer a major surprise in Tokyo.
They are Conway, Pérez, Bernabéu, Rodríguez, Polleres, Bernholm, Matic, Scoccimarro and Timo to name a few medal candidates.
World Ranking U70kg
1 GAHIE Marie Eve FRA 6528 –
2 VAN DIJKE Sanne NED 5678 ▲ 1
3 PINOT Margaux FRA 5639 ▼ 1
4 POLLING Kim NED 5383 ▲ 2
5 ONO Yoko JPN 5351 ▲ 5
6 ARAI Chizuru JPN 4895 ▼ 2
7 POLLERES Michaela AUT 4828 ▼ 2
8 SCOCCIMARRO Giovanna GER 4453 ▲ 1
9 CONWAY Sally GBR 4197 ▼ 2
10 BERNHOLM Anna SWE 3995 ▼ 2
