Georgians Medal at Zagreb Judo Grand Prix

Georgian judokas Avtandil Tchrikishvili and Guram Tushishvili both had successful showings at the Zagreb Grand Prix this weekend.

Tchrikishvili defeated Cuban Ashley Gonzalez to take first place in men’s 90 kg division and Tushishvili beat Rio 2016 Olympic bronze medalist, Israeli Or Sasson, for the men’s 100 kg title.

Tushishvili won all but one of his elimination bouts in the tournament by ippon – the highest score a fighter can achieve in Japanese martial arts.

As EuroNews explains, many judo pundits think a Tushishvili-Sasson rematch could be in store for the final match of the world championships in two months. EuroNews selected Guram Tushishvili as their man of the day for July 29, 2018.

Called by some “The Tower of Tbilisi,” the win was Tushishvili’s second Grand Prix gold medal this year.

At the end of the tournament, Tushishvili thanked his supporters, saying “Thank you very much, of course I am extremely happy that I became the Grand Prix Champion here. I've been training for this - specially for this - Grand Prix very much. Everything was good for me, I beat all of my rivals here and I'm very happy because of this result here in Zagreb. To say it straight - I will fight only for a gold medal in Baku, then we will see.”

By Samantha Guthrie

Photo: Judo Inside