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Grand Slam in Tbilisi: Georgian judoka make the final day golden

The last day of competition at the Grand Slam in Tbilisi was a success all along the line for the Georgian Judo Federation.

Gwiniashvili defeats world number three Toth

Beka Gwiniashvili cleared the top spot in the men’s up to 90 kilograms. At just 26 years of age, the Georgian has now already recorded eleven gold medals in World Tour competitions. In Tbilisi, he won for the second time after 2015. As the 17th ranked athlete in the world, he belongs to the chasing pack of the best in the weight category up to 90 kilograms. The fact that he defeated the third-ranked Hungarian Krisztian Toth in the final in Tbilisi shows that Gviniashvili can win: Gwiniashvili can compete with the best. He received the gold medal from Giorgi Atabegashvili, President of the Georgian Judo Federation.

Gold for Germany

Anna-Maria Wagner from Germany secured victory in the weight category up to 78 kilograms in Tbilisi. In the final, the woman from Ravensburg beat Mayra Aguiar from Brazil and received the golden reward from Lisa Allan, who is responsible for event management at the World Judo Federation.

One will see how it will look at the World Championships, Wagner said. She hopes to be at 100 per cent at the World Championships and then we will see, said the German.

The judo enthusiasts in Tbilisi didn’t even know who to cheer for in the men’s up to 100 kilograms final. Two of their countrymen were on the mat: Onise Saneblidze and Giorgi Beriashvili. The former had his nose in front. His recipe for success was a back throw, Ura-Nage. Tamaz Naveriani, deputy chairman of the Georgian Judo Federation, was in charge of the award ceremony.

He could not describe his feeling, said Saneblidze. He said that it was obvious how much the sport of judo was close to the hearts of the people in Georgia. “Thank you very much for the great support and the great atmosphere here in the hall,” said the winner.

Julia Tolofua of France won Grand Slam gold in the women’s over 78 kilograms. The world number four was awarded the precious metal by Mohamed Meridja, responsible for educational matters at the World Federation.

Zaalishvili: Heavyweight of the future

The future belongs to Georgian heavyweight Gela Zaalishvili. His victory in Tbilisi in the men’s over 100 kilogram weight class proved that the 22-year-old already belongs to the extended world elite. The junior world champion of 2018 beat Alisher Yusupov from Uzbekistan in the final, and the gold was handed to him by Armen Bagdasarov, referee director at the world federation.

What a final day of the Judo Grand Slam in Tbilisi. The event set standards, not least in terms of atmosphere.

By Thomas