Cheng Xunzhao of China shocked everyone at Rio 2016 with his osoto-gari done from an ippon-seoi-nage grip, throwing Iliadis (GRE), Toth (HUN) and Nyman (SWE) with this technique. Actually this technique has been around for ages and is something ippon-seoi-nage specialists use from time to time but it was Cheng's successful use of it at Rio 2016 and later at the 2017 Paris Grand Slam that really popularized it. We worked on this technique during Sunday's training session.
Sunday, August 27, 2017
Cheng Osoto (27/8/17)
Cheng Xunzhao of China shocked everyone at Rio 2016 with his osoto-gari done from an ippon-seoi-nage grip, throwing Iliadis (GRE), Toth (HUN) and Nyman (SWE) with this technique. Actually this technique has been around for ages and is something ippon-seoi-nage specialists use from time to time but it was Cheng's successful use of it at Rio 2016 and later at the 2017 Paris Grand Slam that really popularized it. We worked on this technique during Sunday's training session.
Saturday, August 26, 2017
2017 KL SEA Games: Women's -78kg
Women's -78kg
Our athlete in this weight class is Nor Izzatul Fazlia, 21, a bronze medalist from the last SEA Games (although that was in a lower weight class of -70kg). She is in Pool B and is up against Thailand's Chattayaporn Prawiset, also a relatively young player at 20. Her opponent doesn't have much international experience although she has done well in domestic competitions in Thailand. This can be considered to be a good draw for our athlete. All the best to Izzatul.
2017 KL SEA Games: Women's -70kg
Women's -70kg
Our athlete for this weight class is Siti Noor Aisyah. She is in Pool A and her draw is a very tough one. She will be going up against 5-times SEA Games gold medalist Surattana Thongsri. No doubt it's a daunting task facing such an accomplished opponent but judo is all about rising to the occasion and giving it your best. Upsets, however unlikely, can happen in judo. All the best to Aisyah!
2017 KL SEA Games: Men's -81kg
Men's -81kg
Our athlete in this division is Brenton Sim, who is in Pool B, drawn against Vietnam's Nguyen Huu Hung. This can be considered quite a good draw as Nguyen, 20, is not very experienced in international competition.
The top competitors in this division are Gary Chow of Singapore, Masayuki Terada of Thailand and Horas Manurung of Indonesia.
Chow and Terada are drawn together in Pool A so that should be an exciting match. Should Brenton get past his first round, he would go up against the winner of Pool A's first round.
Chow, 27, is the best prospect from Singapore but he will have a tough battle on his hands with Terada, who is only 21-years old but has a wealth of international competition experience, having competed in several Grand Slams, World Cups, Asian Championships and the Asian Games. He is moving up from -73kg though.
Another very experience player is Indonesia's Horas Manurung, 30, who has competed in some IJF events (Grand Prix, Grand Slam), Asian Championships and the Asian Games. Unlike Terada who moved up from -73kg, Manurung is coming down from -90kg.
Friday, August 25, 2017
2017 KL SEA Games: Women's -63kg
Women's -63kg
Sometimes success in judo competition depends a lot on the luck of the draw. Unfortunately for our player Norlydiawati, her first round draw in Pool A is against Kiyomi Watanabe of the Phillipines, who is the most accomplished judo player in the entire competition, perhaps in the entire history of the SEA Games.
She is currently 25th in the IJF world ranking list.
So, the odds are heavily stacked against our player. Still, this is judo and anything can happen. If Norlydiawati can overcome Watanabe, she would be a giant killer indeed.
2017 KL SEA Games: Men's -73kg
Latest Update: Farhan lost in the semi-final but will be fighting for bronze.
Men's -73kg
Our best prospects is probably Farhan Uzair, a former SEA Games bronze medalist at -66kg. He has now moved up to -73kg but he won't have any strength disadvantage as he is very strong physically and has even been known to compete at -81kg in domestic competitions. It's a wonder how he ever got down to -66kg in the past.
He is in Pool B and drawn against Benjamin Fong of Singapore. This can be considered a good draw as Fong is relatively new to the competition scene. Farhan favour the side takedown and drop seoi-nage while Fong likes uchimata. With strength and experience on his side, Farhan should do well.
If Farhan gets past the first round, he will meet the winner of Pool A, which is between Indonesia and Laos. Of the two, the Indonesia player, Apriyadi, is more experienced. Although he hasn't had much success in international competitions, he has competed a lot and that experience should count for a lot.
Farhan has the distinction of having won two matches at the international level, namely the Commonwealth Games and Taipei World Cup. Apriyadi has competed in even more top level competitions and has also won two matches at the international level, namely the Wollongong World Cup and the Asian Games. If they meet up, it should make for an interesting match.
Our best prospects is probably Farhan Uzair, a former SEA Games bronze medalist at -66kg. He has now moved up to -73kg but he won't have any strength disadvantage as he is very strong physically and has even been known to compete at -81kg in domestic competitions. It's a wonder how he ever got down to -66kg in the past.
He is in Pool B and drawn against Benjamin Fong of Singapore. This can be considered a good draw as Fong is relatively new to the competition scene. Farhan favour the side takedown and drop seoi-nage while Fong likes uchimata. With strength and experience on his side, Farhan should do well.
If Farhan gets past the first round, he will meet the winner of Pool A, which is between Indonesia and Laos. Of the two, the Indonesia player, Apriyadi, is more experienced. Although he hasn't had much success in international competitions, he has competed a lot and that experience should count for a lot.
Farhan has the distinction of having won two matches at the international level, namely the Commonwealth Games and Taipei World Cup. Apriyadi has competed in even more top level competitions and has also won two matches at the international level, namely the Wollongong World Cup and the Asian Games. If they meet up, it should make for an interesting match.
2017 KL SEA Games: Men's -66kg
Latest Update: Chong is in the final. He will be going up against the Indonesian Raharjo. His opponent is 30 years old so Chong has got youth on his side.
***
It's about 1 hour before the competition starts. There's just one mat area so it should be easy to follow the competition. There are three contests today, Men's -66kg, Men's -73kg and Women's -63kg. Let's look at Malaysia's prospects on Day One beginning with the -60kg.
Men's -66kg
Our fighter Chong Wei Fu is a SEA Games bronze medalist but at -73kg. He has since moved back down to -66kg. That could be a blessing or a curse depending on how you look at it. It's a blessing because obviously the -66kg players are not physically as strong as the -73kg players. But it could be a curse because he's had to cut a considerable amount of weight.
Chong is in Pool D and his first fight is against a Laotian player
Manivanh Lamphan. Not much is known about this player. He is relatively
young at 18 and does not have much international experience.
However, together with his teammates, he has been training hard in Japan and Austria. In contrast, Chong has been training in Mongolia. Between the two, Chong has more competition experience and this can be considered a good draw for him.
If Chong gets through his first round, he will either meet Ace Ang of Singapore or Huynh Nhat Thong of Vietnam.
Ace has a much harder draw than Chong. His opponent Huynh, 27, is very experienced and has competed in the World Junior Championships, World Championships, Asian Games and several Asian Championships. Ace has not had much international experience but he has youth on his side.
Pools A and B are much harder with Pool A seeing Indonesia going against the Philippines. Pool B has Thailand against Myanmar.
***
It's about 1 hour before the competition starts. There's just one mat area so it should be easy to follow the competition. There are three contests today, Men's -66kg, Men's -73kg and Women's -63kg. Let's look at Malaysia's prospects on Day One beginning with the -60kg.
Our fighter Chong Wei Fu is a SEA Games bronze medalist but at -73kg. He has since moved back down to -66kg. That could be a blessing or a curse depending on how you look at it. It's a blessing because obviously the -66kg players are not physically as strong as the -73kg players. But it could be a curse because he's had to cut a considerable amount of weight.
 |
| Chong's Opponent |
However, together with his teammates, he has been training hard in Japan and Austria. In contrast, Chong has been training in Mongolia. Between the two, Chong has more competition experience and this can be considered a good draw for him.
If Chong gets through his first round, he will either meet Ace Ang of Singapore or Huynh Nhat Thong of Vietnam.
Ace has a much harder draw than Chong. His opponent Huynh, 27, is very experienced and has competed in the World Junior Championships, World Championships, Asian Games and several Asian Championships. Ace has not had much international experience but he has youth on his side.
Pools A and B are much harder with Pool A seeing Indonesia going against the Philippines. Pool B has Thailand against Myanmar.
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