Albayrak opened his campaign with a tactical victory, followed by a groundwork ippon, before securing a hard-fought win in golden score. His morning was built on consistency, discipline and control. In the semi-final, he ended the host nation’s hopes of gold by defeating Dimitri Gochilaidze (GEO), maintaining his steady progression towards the final.
In the bottom half of the draw, a world champion, Matthias Casse (BEL), looked in command until his quarter-final against Mykhailo Svidrak (UKR), where the Ukrainian managed to shift the balance and claim victory.
Svidrak carried that momentum into the semi-final against Mihajlo Simin (SRB), who had impressed throughout the day. However, Svidrak’s precision and timing proved decisive, leaving Simin without a solution.
The final therefore featured Vedat Albayrak (TUR), against Mykhailo Svidrak (UKR). It was a contest defined by power and physical intensity, with both judoka committed fully in every exchange. For almost four minutes, Svidrak held the advantage and seemed within reach of the gold medal, resisting constant pressure from Albayrak. But in the final seconds, during a fierce close-range exchange, Albayrak found the opening to score waza-ari and turn the contest around at the last moment; a remarkable comeback to claim the gold medal after a truly intense battle between the two athletes.
In the first bronze medal contest, Mihajlo Simin (SRB) faced Timo Cavelius (GER). A well-timed ko-uchi-gari earned Simin a yuko, which proved enough to secure the bronze medal.
Matthias Casse (BEL) and Dimitri Gochilaidze (GEO) contested the second bronze medal match. It was a powerful and uncompromising contest with neither athlete giving ground. Casse eventually broke the deadlock with an explosive kata-guruma, initially scored ippon but revised to waza-ari. From there, the Belgian controlled the remainder of the contest to secure a well-earned bronze medal.
Final (-81 kg)
Bronze Medal Fights (-81 kg)
