In the first quarter though we saw a minor adjustment in the order of things when Kajzer (SLO), unseeded, beat 8th seed Cai (CHN) convincingly, with tactics, yes, but secure ones that looked in no danger of letting the Slovenian down.
Kajzer’s tendancy to upset the hierarchy continued when she reached the quarter-final, a presumed easy win for world champion Christa Deguchi. It was an outstanding moment of clarity and precision which unbalanced the Canadian. Kajzer took a left-handed lapel grip and then switched to taken a deep cross over the shoulder with her right, a common but awkward grip, once that is solved and trained against by many. Deguchi wasn’t ready for what happened next though; her opponent switched again, back to left throwing with uchi-mata for ippon. Actually it was an incredible tactic, an incredible technique and a deserved win.
In the second quarter Perisic as the highest ranked of that section of the draw, also succumbed to some excellent technical work, for her it was at the hands of the home athlete, Eteri Liparteliani. It was a very active contest, both attacking throughout, as evidenced by a scoreboard that showed just one shido with 4 seconds remaining of normal time. It was at that moment that Perisic again attacked with a dropping technique but the Georgian was ready and used the momentum to throw with sumi-gaeshi.
Liparteliani was then delighted to reach her first Tbilisi final, having won braonze in 2022, throwing Kajzer in their semi-final.
Jessica Klimkait went one round further than Deguchi, reaching the semi-final but not without some tense moments. The shido tally was high in each round, whether for her or the opponents and it was indicative of a Klimkait not quite as sharp as some versions we have seen. However, having made it that far, she was determined to stay ahead of Deguchi on the day, knowing that the 1500 point lead in Deguchi’s favour was a big hurdle in terms of Olympic selection.
Klimkait won the semi-final against Lima (BRA) by waza-ari at full time and secured her place in the final, giving Deguchi no chance to overtake again on the day. Lima had reached that semi-final by ensuring her own domestic rivalry went in her favour in Tbilisi and so Lima and Klimkait understood one another perfectly.
Lima had beaten Oguz (TUR) in round two after a bye and then took out Irina Zueva (AIN) before finding herself in a quarter-final against Olympic and double world champion Rafaela Silva. Seeded 6th and 3rd respectively meant their days were destined to converge. It was a very tactical quarter-final but an o-uchi-gari attempt from Lima 2 minutes into golden score was the final attack of the contest, giving Silva a 3rd shido, once she was not happy to receive.
The first bronze medal contest saw Deguchi face Lima in an all-Pan American clinch. Christa Deguchi threw twice for the medal, with our celebration or even a smile, knowing that despite her lead on the ranking table, every point counts and every performance is scrutinised in this Canadian Olympic race.
The second bronze medal contest was fought between Silva and Kajzer, eventually leaning the Brazilian’s way thanks to a combination of ashi-waza attacks.
Liparteliani set the arena alight as she entered for the final, the whole crowd fuelling her levitation to the tatami. Klimkait would undoubtedly have her work cut out.
Jessica Klimkait arrived with her usual seoi-otoshi attacks coming thick and fast but Eteri Liparteliani was ready for them and countered one for a waza-ari which she held until the end of time. Liparteliani is the first Georgian woman to ever win gold at the Tbilisi Grand Slam and again she pushes the boundaries of what is possible for women in sport in her country. The Georgian takes the top spot, surrounded by a trio of world champions.
Following the final, one of the most romantic moments ever seen in sport brought an already emotional moment to fever pitch as the gold medallist’s long term partner, Temur Nozadze, ran into the arena to hug his champion. She hugged him right back but he slid away, dropping to one knee to present her with a stunning diamond ring. This was quite some proposal, not a dry eye in the house. Liparteliani is the Tbilisi grand slam champion, embracing her combat sport and her family life with everything she has!
Final (-57 kg)
Bronze Medal Fights (-57 kg)
