There is simply no doubting how talented Matthias CASSE (BEL) is in the -81kg class, and certainly his position in the world rankings reflects that. He managed to hold onto his top position for some time and even went undefeated for 15 contests, however in Antalya he seemed to fall apart. Let’s hope for his sake that he has fixed what was broken to come back and show his dominant self once again.
At the last European Judo Championships in 2021, he missed out on the gold medal to the reigning champion, Vedat ALBAYRAK (TUR). He has managed to pick up two Grand Slam silvers since then, but he won’t be haunted by those final defeats as his chance to continue his title in Sofia draws closer.
For Belgium they have double their hopes when looking only at the top seeds with Sami CHOUCHI not far behind in fourth place. The pair have fought on many occasions and he is still there, still fighting for that top spot, which just can’t be held forever.
One -81kg athlete who is always highly anticipated is Tato GRIGALASHVILI (GEO). For four events in a row; Grand Slam of Düsseldorf 2020, European Under-23 Championships, European Senior Championships 2020 and the Doha Masters 2021, was unstoppable. Since then, only small incidents have cost him the gold medal and he is still only 22 years old. After a world silver and an Olympic fifth last year, he returned to win a European under-23 title, as well as two Paris Grand Slam medals. You will be desperately wanting to peak again.
We also have Olympic bronze medalist Shamil BORCHASHVILI (AUT), Frank DE WIT (NED), Attila UNGVARI (HUN) and Sagi MUKI (ISR) inside the top eight, which is sure to be an exciting weight class, and plenty of it. except those sitting outside. among them Alfonso URQUIZA SOLANA (ESP).
FUENTE: EJU/Thea Cowen
PHOTOS: EJU
