Georgia: Lasha Bekauri won the European Open Championship, filling the hearts of Judo enthusiasts with great pride and excitement. The Georgian team also won two medals in the Judo Madrid Open Championship, the last tournament before the Paris Olympics.
In Tokyo Olympic Games champion, Lasha Bekauri, in the -90 kg category, embarked on a journey of triumph, defeating Greek and French rivals with his unmatched skills. In the quarter-finals, he overcame a French opponent, and in the semi-finals, he emerged victorious against Slovak Alex Barto. The match for the gold medal was a thrilling encounter with French Paul Livol, which Lasha won with his trademark effective results, leaving the audience in wonder of his prowess.
Vladimir Akhalkatsi (81 kg) was close to the gold medal, having won over Spanish, German, Ukrainian, and French rivals. Still, in a decisive match, he lost to French Amad Aregba by Japan and took second place.
A fair few athletes were still on the hunt for qualification spots in the Olympic Games in Paris, less than 50 days away. Some were competing to better their world ranking positions and, in doing so, their seeding for the Games. Then there was the unusual entry of Lasha Bekauri in the Madrid European Open, the current Olympic Champion of the -90kg category was already owner of the coveted top spot in the world ranking list.
Some were surprised that he and teammate Ilia Sulamanidze, who is competing in the 100kg category, were missing the World Championships. Instead, the pair had traded home soil for training in Germany.
Lasha Bekauri
Lasha Bekauri is a Georgian judoka. He won the gold medal in the men’s 90 kg event at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. He also won the gold medal in his event at the 2019 Judo World Masters and the 2021 European Judo Championships.
