He then moved past Aljaz Plantak (SLO) and Arnaud Aregba (FRA) before meeting the winner of pool A, Botond Toth (HUN), in the semi-final. Toth was a surprise at this level, after the premature elimination of the number 1 seed Mykhailo Svidrak (UKR).
In pool C, Adam Kopecky (CZE) confirmed his status as favourite until the semi-final, while at the bottom of the draw it was the Brazilian judoka Gabriel Falcao who passed the rounds without faltering. Continuing his momentum, former junior world number one Falcao won against Kopecky and entered the final against Sterpu.
The last final of the day was very similar to the whole final block, exciting and spectacular. Gabriel Falcao dominated the contest, being more precise and dangerous with his attacks, but the first score came from Sterpu with a hidden sumi-gaeshi that surprised his opponent. Falcao then caught Sterpu on the floor for a waza-ari. To conclude, Sterpu scored for a second time to win the gold medal.
The first match for a bronze medal saw Arnaud Aregba (FRA) and Adam Kopecky face off for the medal (CZE). From the first seconds on, Aregba was clearly looking for the ura-nage and he got it in the most beautiful way. It was a clear ippon and a bronze medal for France.
Leonardo Casaglia (ITA) and Botond Toth (HUN) were the last judoka of the day to fight for a bronze medal. This was the first golden score contests of today's final block. It took 3 minutes and 12 seconds for Casaglia to eventually find the first opportunity to score a waza-ari.
Final (-81 kg)
Bronze Medal Fights (-81 kg)
