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Judo stars from around the world are gathered in Georgia’s capital Tbilisi for the highly anticipated 2024 edition of the Grand Slam. To witness the first day of this event, numerous fans flocked to the Olympic Sports Palace.
Now -48 kg day Koreana Hyekyeong LEE she overcame the French Laura ESPADINHA with a masterful ura-nage that allowed her to obtain an ippon and win the title. IJF Director of Education and Coaching, Mohammed MERIDJA, presented the medals.
In -60 kg, however, Corners SERIKBAYEV faced Yam WOLCZAK in the final. A sacrificial technique proved to be the winner for the Kazakh athlete, who performed a waza-ari almost at the end of the match, achieving victory. The medal was presented to him by Shengeli PITSKHELAURI, deputy head of the security of the State of Georgia. “This is the first race in Tbilisi for me – commented Serikbayev -. And it was a success. I am very happy. I like this city: it is beautiful and welcoming”.
Ariane TORO SOLER faced Ana Viktorija PULJIZ in the -52 kg category. The golden score was needed to crown the Spanish judoka the winner, who performed a perfect uchi-mata and won the gold medal, which was presented to her by Juan Carlos BARCOS, IJF coordinator for international refereeing seminars. “I like being here, and not just because I won gold, it’s a beautiful city. It’s really nice that people love judo so much, it’s nice to see how much they appreciate this sport.”
Ivan CHERNYKH surprised everyone in the -66 kg category, winning gold in his first appearance in the IJF World Judo Tour. The medals were presented by Massimiliano D’ANTUONO, Italian ambassador to Georgia.
But the moment that all the Georgian fans were waiting for arrived when the home favorite stepped onto the tatami LIPARTELIAN ETHERS, who in the -57 kg category faced former world champion Jessica KLIMKAIT, Canadian. To the delight of the public, the Georgian athlete prevailed after a hard-fought match with her rival. The gold medal was presented by Irakli MEDZMARIASHVILI, parliamentarian of Georgia.
The home judokas gave their supporters great emotions throughout the day. And there are still two days left until the end of the Grand Slam.
2024-03-22 20:19:32
#Judo #gold #Georgia #Tbilisi #Grand #Slam
