Munkhbat Urantsetseg warms up the home crowd with gold against Galbadrakh

Mongolian Former world champion Munkhbat Urantsetseg warmed up for her first Olympics by beating her nemesis and teammate-turned-rival Otgontsetseg Galbadrakh (KAZ). Paris Grand Slam winner Galbadrakh (KAZ) switched from representing Mongolia to Kazakhstan in 2015 as her competition route was blocked by Munkhbat with only one judoka per country eligible to compete in each weight category at the Olympics.

Galbadrakh, who was returning to her native Mongolia as one of the top seeds for the Games, had beaten Munkhbat in all three of their meetings in 2016 and that was all fuel for her former teammate who was fighting in her homeland for the final time before Rio 2016. Munkhbat took the lead with a yuko from a sumi-gaeshi which proved to be decisive as the only score in the four minute contest. The Ulaanbaatar Grand Prix 2016 final could even be the Rio 2016 Olympic final and there is only five weeks left to see if that contest materialises. 

In the first semi-final Munkhbat defeated former Ulaanbaatar Grand Prix bronze medallist Magsarjav Dolgorjav (MGL) by ippon from a juji-gatame as her teammate was forced to submit after a one-sided contest. In the second semi-final Galbadrakh defeated 17-year-old IJF World Judo Tour debutant Battamir Khorloo (MGL) by a yuko score which came from a left-sided sumi-gaeshi.

The first bronze medal contest was won by teenager Battamir who marked her senior debut with a fantastic result. The Mongolian immediately endeared herself to her home fans by defeating Orenburg European Cup silver medallist Marina Gyunter (RUS) with a yuko to win her country’s first medal at the Ulaanbaatar Grand Prix 2016. The second bronze medal was won by All Japan Championships bronze medallist Morizaki Yurie (JPN) who defeated Magsarjav. After the home judoka received a shido for passivity, she was treated for a bloody nose after blocking a drop seoi-nage attack from by planting her face on the tatami. Morizaki fended off a juji-gatame attempt and came through by ippon with 40 seconds remaining