The Clever Man

In the quarter-final in Zagreb he was against Genki Koga, Japanese, that is to say, very good and the son of the legend Toshihiko Koga. "You'll see," Ruiz says, "he's going to eat him." Two minutes later, the Spaniard lifted the Japanese off the ground and there are not many who have managed that until then, to make him land at the hands of a thunderous ko-soto-gake, which, for those who do not understand techniques, could be translated into badaboom! It could, and for many should have been the final, but this is the World Judo Tour, ladies and gentlemen, and there is a long way to go before the finish line. 

In the semi-final he ran into a concrete Korean, Won Jin Kim, for a sensational fight, with almost seven minutes of golden score and the Korean's final victory by waza-ari. Okay, Garrigós isn't afraid but he does have excellent rivals. 

From time to time, luck accompanies athletes. Magzhan Shamshadin (KAZ) was junior world champion in 2015 but has shown little more, until his third place in Tel Aviv this year. Let's say he has a discreet profile. In Croatia he benefited from a lenient draw and he did not miss the opportunity because in judo you also have to be clever. His litmus test came in the semi-finals against Frenchman Maxim Merlin, because a victory meant a guaranteed medal. Shamshadin didn't let Merlin work his magic and won by ippon. It remained to be seen if the Korean Kim had regained strength after his confrontation with Garrigós. 

If Kim was exhausted, he hid it very well. As for Shamshadin, nothing was left behind in the locker room. The Kazakh tried in every way, he had the initiative and the Korean did not like it. As if that weren't enough, Kim had a mishap, a little blood from an open wound, which he didn't like either, so he began to attack, which surprised the Kazakh. The referee handed out shido and neither of them liked that. We enjoyed it because there is nothing better than seeing two judoka wanting to score ippon. In golden score, Shamshadin, more complete, more intelligent and more timely, concluded a glorious day with his first grand prix title and the demonstration that judo and intelligence go hand in hand. 

Koga and Merlin fought for the first bronze with more desire than art, it must be said. The difference occurred in ne-waza. The Frenchman attacked but dropped and Koga seized the moment. The first time he did not succeed but the second time he did not fail. 

Sardalashvili was waiting for the European champion Garrigós to take the bronze from him. The Spanish judoka came out like a hurricane, to scare, as if that were possible against a Georgian. After the first push, Garrigós fizzled out and Sardalashvili scored ippon with sumi-gaeshi, winning his first grand prix medal.