“I think today we have seen higher quality judo compared to Friday, especially in the final block. There has been an avalanche of diverse movements and excellent techniques. I think it is also because the four categories in the running are very attractive, very open, anyone can win.
I was impressed by the Belgian Sami Chouchi because he fought like a lion all day. In Tashkent he won a medal but I didn't expect him to win gold, especially here. In the semi-finals he faced the great favourite and local hero, Tato Grigalashvili and won by ippon. That shows the right ambition and attitude. You can't come to Georgia and practise shy judo. Here you have to move forward, be offensive and never give up. Chouchi has understood and that is why he has succeeded. That is why judo is so beautiful.
I also liked the Austrian Shamil Borshashvili. In the final against Chouchi, he earned a waza-ari that could have been ippon 12 seconds after the match began. That shows character and attitude.
Those judoka who won medals in Tashkent have come here still in splendid shape, some even improved, such as the case of Chouchi. This means that the results recorded here are not a coincidence.
If I had to highlight someone else, I think it would be to underline the excellent performance of the entire Canadian team. I really like Christa Deguchi; I think she is the best in her category. Yesterday she lost because she made a mistake, but behind Deguchi there is a strong team, both female and male, as evidenced by the gold obtained today by Catherine Beauchemin-Pinard. They have not come to Georgia to appear, but to win.
In short, we have witnessed many beautiful gestures, many ippons and waza-ari and many ne-waza turnovers. On Sunday, after the last day concluded, we will check the statistics, but I am convinced that, in terms of scores, this will be the best Grand Slam so far and neither have too many golden scores or hansokumake been recorded and that's an excellent indicator too.