Silver medal for Assunta Scutto, defeated in the 48 kg world final by Mongolian Baasankhuu Bavuudorj. It was a stellar final between Scutto and Bavuudorj, an incessant exchange of attacks and counterattacks and precisely on one of these, Assunta’s seoi nage was dodged and counterattacked by the Mongolian’s sumi gaeshi. Wazari announced with only six seconds left on the clock. Which Bavuudorj dedicated to an attempt at juji gatame before being able to rejoice in his first world title, won at the age of 24. Assunta Scutto is 22 years old and this silver medal, in addition to being beautiful, is the third in a row at the world championships.
Assunta Scutto in the 48 kg and Odette Giuffrida in the 52 kg will compete in the final for the gold medal. Not a bad start to these ad world championships Abu Dhabi. The appointment with the finals block is at 4 pm with Assunta Scutto who will face the Mongolian Baasankhuu Bavuudorj e Odette Giuffrida instead she will compete for the world title with the Uzbek Diyora Keldiyorova.
This is the story of the first day
Andrea Carlino is the first of the Italian athletes to get on the tatami of the Mubadala Arena and, in the 60 kg, he has to give way to the Dutch Emiel Jaring who prevails by three sanctions to two.
Then it’s Assunta Scutto’s turn who, in the 48 kg, takes 13 seconds to defeat the Maltese Katryna Esposito with the first seoi nage attack.
The 52 kg category also opens and Odette Giuffrida surpasses Estrella Lopez Sheriff with her combination of seoi nage/tani otoshi evaluated wazari and then, for the Spaniard, the third sanction also arrives.
Second match for Assunta Scutto opposite the Russian Sabina Giliazova (Ain), she immediately takes the lead with seoi nage-wazari followed, shortly after, with sode tsuri komi goshi-ippon.
There is therefore a double challenge between Italy and Japan with Angelo Pantano called to face Yaiki Nakamura in the 60 kg and, in the 52 kg, Odette Giuffrida faces Kisumi Omori.
Nakamura leaves no room for the blue and closes in a minute with ko uchi gari-wazari which is then followed by a reversal that leads to the immobilization-ippon.
Giuffrida, on the other hand, eliminates Omori with a de ashi barai-wazari which the Japanese girl, despite launching the assault, just can’t overcome.
Assunta Scutto is in the quarter-finals and faces the Turkish Tugce Beder
Beder gains an advantage (wazari) with a soda tsuri komi goshi attack, but then Assunta’s special reversal puts things back in order and with an ippon of surrender he closes the match.
We are also in the quarter-finals for Odette Giuffrida, who faces Larissa Pimenta (Bra) in a match which, to identify the winner, requires a golden score of another four minutes. Odette passes and is in the semi-final with Amandine Buchard (Fra).
But first there is the 48 kg semi-final and Assunta Scutto faces the strong eighteen-year-old Swede Tara Babulfath. A minute passes and Assunta scores wazari with soda tsuri komi goshi on the edge. Babulfath goes on the attack, comes close to making a comeback with an immobilization, but Scutto frees himself in time. At a certain point the Italian suffers a knee failure, but she grits her teeth until the end and is in the final for the gold. After third places in Tashkent 2022 and Doha 2023, for the third consecutive year Assunta Scutto reaches the podium at the world championships.
The first four minutes of the semi-final between Giuffrida and Buchard passed without points, but many attempts on both sides. Only one sanction each. Odette doubles for a false attack, emulated by Buchard when the clock reaches 2’30”. Another minute passes with Buchard always anticipating the action and Giuffrida spreading her arms to demonstrate its non-existence. Thus comes the third sanction. For Odette… or rather, no… for the French girl. And Odette is also in the final.
