If there is another fact that cannot be denied, it is the public enthusiasm for judo in Georgia. This is obviously linked to the results of male and female athletes and the popularity of the sport across all generations, but not only.
For David Kevkhishvili, vice president of the Georgian Judo Federation and Director of the IJF New Technologies and High Performance Commission, there are many reasons for that popularity, "First of all, we have a big tradition of judo in Georgia that dates back to the 50's. The Tbilisi tournament is legendary and Tbilisi has always been a place where judoka from all over the world want to compete.
Therefore, the public know judo! More recently they have adapted very well to the new rules and that's very positive but I think also that the public fights together with the athletes, clearly. They are together and live the competition together. Through history, the Georgian people had to fight a lot. It's in our blood and today we can express that spirit through sport and especially through judo.
To be honest, having champions such as Lasha Bekauri or Guram Tushishvili to support is just incredible, especially for the young ones.
Something that is really new for us is that for the first time the public is paying to come to watch judo. Before it was always for free. Now they don't only come to watch the sport, but also to enjoy the show and to have interactions with their heroes."
This interaction was illustrated perfectly on day 1 and 2, respectively with Eteri Liparteliani's proposal and the Avtandili Tchrikishvili's retirement celebration. This is what the public is coming for. What can be noticed as well is the incredible fair play of the audience, "We have amazing champions and that helps a lot but if you look carefully, there are many athletes with Georgian roots who compete for other nations and the public is supporting them as well. Further than that, they support any kind of beautiful and spectacular judo, wherever it comes from."
This is Georgia, this is judo and that is why every year we are happy to come to Tbilisi.