Final: Tato Grigalashvili (GEO) vs Zelim Tckaev
These two judoka put everything they had on the tatami, all their spirit, their national pride, their heart. They gave the world of judo an epic battle, first of gripping, then of attacks, counters and survival. They took turns collecting penalties but everyone was waiting for the score that would decide the contest; it could come at any moment.
As golden score began there was palpable anticipation in the arena, no-one knowing how it would end, each nation’s supporters waving their flags and calling for their heroes.
It took almost ten minutes for the score to come, a waza-ari for a counter. There was a moment of silence as certainty was checked and double-checked by video review. Tato Grigalashvili had done it again; four times a world champion! Zelim Tckaev has his third world medal but will have to come back for another edition to win his first gold.
“The last three months were a very important period of preparation for me, said Grigalashvili. “There were changes within the team, particularly after our head coach left, so we had to adapt and reorganise ourselves. With the new team, my personal coaches and everyone around me, we continued to work together towards the same goal. In the end, all that collective effort allowed us to achieve this title once again, for the fourth time.”
Bronze medal contest: Omar Rajabli (AZE) vs Abylaikhan Zhubanazar (KAZ)
This was an all-action contest right from the first ‘hajime.’ An energetic crowd were fully behind their athlete, adding pressure to Rajabli but also energy. It took the Azerbaijani athlete a little while to find the pace of the contest though, even with such support, Zhubanazar taking the lead early with a yuko.
Trailing and totally aware of his audience’s hopes, Omar Rajabli did everything he could to settle himself and be at his best. A ko-uchi-gari came soon to give him the equaliser and that led to an exchange on the ground. There, Zhubanazar was unable to stop the home athlete and an osaekomi was called which eventually scored ippon. Rajabli was emotional in front of his spectators who cheered for him louder than ever before.
Bronze medal contest: Joonhwan Lee (KOR) vs Mihajlo Simin (SRB)
Despite moments of brilliance from Lee during the preliminary session, he struggled with consistency through the day and in the bronze medal contest against 21-year-old Mihajlo Simin, he couldn’t keep pace. Lee scored first, a yuko, but Simin never stopped hunting his own scores, putting Lee under a great deal of stress.
In the last minute of the contest, Simin launched an o-uchi-gari with a huge driving force, knocking Lee to the ground for a yuko. With the scores level, the young Serbian worked even harder to finish the contest and with just four seconds left on the clock he hooked onto Lee’s leg and threw for a waza-ari with osoto-gari. An incredible day’s work delivered Mihajlo Simin a bronze medal and the chance to stand on the podium of this world championships.
Final (-81 kg)
Bronze Medal Fights (-81 kg)
