Omori flips the script in Ulaanbaatar as Cysique settles for silver

Akari Omori and Sarah Leonie Cysique shaped the key story of the -57 kg category in Ulaanbaatar. In a final that repeated their Paris Grand Slam meeting from February, the Japanese judoka found her answer this time and captured gold with a sharp turning point on the ground.

The draw had already delivered one of the day’s early shocks. Timna Nelson Levy of Israel arrived with momentum after a recent European medal and looked in control after beating Italy’s Veronica Toniolo in her opener. But in the quarter-finals, Maysa Pardayeva of Turkmenistan stopped that run in emphatic style, launching a powerful ko-soto-gari for Ippon in under a minute.

Pardayeva’s breakout performance added real energy to the category, but her progress was ended by Omori, who continued Japan’s strong opening-day form and advanced to the gold medal contest. On the other side, France had an intriguing in-house storyline around Faiza Mokdar and Sarah Leonie Cysique. The contrast was clear: youth and emergence with Mokdar, experience and composure with Cysique.

In the end, it was Cysique who came through to the final, while Mokdar’s campaign ended earlier in the quarter-finals. That set up a high-level rematch with Omori, bringing extra tension to a contest between two athletes who already knew each other well.

For almost three minutes, neither judoka gave much away. The first Shido went to both athletes for passivity, a sign of how finely balanced the fight had become. Then came the decisive moment.

As the action moved through a transition that appeared to be drifting toward ne-waza, Cysique relaxed for an instant and Omori reacted immediately. She turned her opponent over and scored a clear Ippon, sealing the match in one movement and taking the -57 kg title.

One opening was all Omori needed to change the final.

Omori later said she had spent the past week correcting mistakes from a competition in Japan and building strategies for competing abroad. That self-assessment mattered. In Ulaanbaatar, it turned into a gold medal and another strong result for Japan.

There was still a podium finish for Europe in the category. Germany’s Seija Ballhaus defeated Nelson Levy in the bronze medal contest after the Israeli athlete, already behind on the scoreboard, was forced to submit to a strangle. It was a disciplined and determined performance from Ballhaus, who left with bronze.

The second bronze went to Pardayeva, who completed one of the standout runs of the day. Against France’s Mokdar, she scored early with a low O-uchi-gari for yuko and then absorbed late pressure to protect the lead until the end.

So the final standings brought a mix of confirmed class and surprise momentum: Omori on top, Cysique with silver, and bronze medals for Ballhaus and Pardayeva. For European fans, Cysique and Ballhaus ensured the continent stayed firmly in the medal picture, even as Omori delivered the category’s defining finish.

Source: IJF.org

Image source: IJF / International Judo Federation