We can highlight, for example, the heavyweight women from China. Shiyan Xu is the number one seed in Georgia but her teammate Xin Su is the 4th seed, chasing her up the rankings. There is potential for them to meet in the semi-final in Tbilisi, a direct head-to ahead that will not only yield bigger points for one of them but also comes with some honour at stake.
Xu won in Perth and Qazakstan among a host of other medals throughout the last year while Su closed the gap when she won gold in Tashkent earlier this month. The race is tight and nomination day must weigh heavily on their shoulders and so Tbilisi has become more important for them than ever.
The young Ukrainian double-act is also surging forward at a pace. On day 3 the Kurchenko-Lutvynenko saga will continue at -78 kg. On the Olympic ranking list they are separated by 600 points across 5 places but both are in direct qualification and both still have the possibility to be selected. Kurchenko has slightly better recent results but Lytvynenko has the higher ranking. Nothing is decided yet.
In the same category we note the last minute absence of group leader Anna-Maria Wagner (GER), unable to travel due to illness. With the German women qualified at 3rd, 4th and 8th in the Olympic ranking list, this absence leaves a space for Boehm to catch up but she would need need the full 1000 points to make a dent in Wagner’s lead. Its unfortunate for Olek, which as been performing extremely well of late, winning in Portugal and Upper Austria, that she was not able to take up a spot in Georgia as only two per weight can be entered.
Among the men, one of the most awaited superstars of the event arrives on day 3. Olympic champion Lasha Bekauri will wait for either Talibov (AZE) or Barto (SVK) to face him in the second round at -90 kg. He brings spectacular, creative judo even with his almost-casual demeanour but with his flamboyance and relaxedness comes the ability to lose as big as he wins. The crowd will be entertained, that’s not in doubt, but will it be a whole day of Bekauri thrills or an upset early doors?
Find out how the final day progresses by following all the the action on JudoTV.com.