Butkereit wins Tashkent under-70kg final

Miriam Butkereit won the women’s under-70kg title at the Tashkent Grand Slam after defeating Melkia Auchecorne in the final. The German Olympic and world medallist used a hold-down to score ippon and end the French judoka’s bid for gold.

Auchecorne had beaten top seed Aoife Coughlan, China’s Lu Liu and Greece’s Elisavet Teltsidou on her way to the final. Butkereit advanced through a semifinal against another French athlete, Clemence Eme, who had earlier eliminated Japan’s Erina Ike from the competition.

Eme recovered to beat Liu for bronze, giving France two podium places in the category after a difficult opening day. Teltsidou won the second bronze against Kamila Badurova through a yuko in a prolonged golden-score contest, earning her ninth Grand Slam medal.