After a tricky first round, against Ivaylo Ivanov (BUL), Bekauri was opposed by Juyeop Han (KOR) to reach the semi-final. Contract fulfilled!
Meanwhile in pool A we noted the premature elimination of Christian Parlati (ITA) at the hands of John Jayne (USA). This is the kind of surprise that are reserved for rhetorical Olympic Games.
In pool B, it was Erlan Sherov (KGZ) that we followed closely. The top seed in this pool, he didn't give Ivan Felipe Silva Morales (CUB) a chance and found himself in the path of Tristani Mosakhlishvili (ESP), who has been gaining momentum since his third place in Abu Dhabi at the World Championships in May. Finally, Sherov was the victim of Mosakhlishvili's strength, who passed the round and faced Rafael Macedo (BRA) before joining Bekauri in the semi-final.
Like Joan-Benjamin Gaba (FRA) in the -73kg category, Maxime-Gael Ngayap Hambou (FRA) pulled out all the stops and demonstrated once again how ready the French men's team is for these Games. It wasn't that easy in recent months, even if we could feel some stirrings. Clearly, the work done in recent months is paying off. Ngayap Hambou was in Olympic form throughout the morning, successively eliminating David Klammert (CZE), the reigning European champion Eljan Hajiyev (AZE), and the solid Theodoros Tselidis (GRE) to reach an unexpected semi-final.
In the fourth and last pool, Sanshiro Murao (JPN) made a big impression. He did not only win, he did it in style against Klen Kristofer Kaljulaid (EST) and Aram Grigorian (UAE), even if the latter gave him a hard time.
Semi-Finals
Lasha Bekauri (GEO) vs Tristani Mosakhlishvili (ESP)
Maxime-Gael Ngayap Hambou (FRA) vs Sanshiro Murao (JPN)
Repechage
Juyeop Han (KOR) vs Rafael Macedo (BRA)
Theodoros Tselidis (GRE) vs Aram Grigorian (UAE)