Timur Arbuzov (IJF), on the other hand, was a man on a mission. He barely broke a sweat in his 4 morning contests. He arrived as the number 4 seed, already a world medallist, and sliced through each opponent as if no challenge were presented at all. In the semi-final against Tojiev, it was no different. As the preliminary rounds passed, the doubts mounted that Tato would be able to retain his title.
Tato Grigalashvili (GEO) though is no ordinary judoka. He won the senior world title in 2022, 2023 and 2024 and even on his less glittering days, should never be discounted. The Tato on the mat in Budapest is perhaps not at his best; he still made it to the final though, after an epic battle with Casse (BEL) in the quarter-final and another close one against dynamic and intelligent Azerbaijani Zelim Tckaev in the semi-final.
Each day of this world championships so far has delivered some devastating loses. Day 4 is following suit. At -81 kg, Makhmadbekov is out, Esposito, Gauthier Drapeau and Joonhwan Lee have lost. And, wait for it, the biggest of them all: double Olympic champion Takanori Nagase is also out! Beaten by the Uzbek, Tojiev, world ranked at 37 and with few note-worthy prior appearances, Nagase exited in the second round.
The final block begins at 18:00 local time and is not to be missed!
Final
Timur Arbuzov (IJF) vs Tato Grigalashvili (GEO)
Bronze medal contests
Nugzari Tatalashvili (UAE) vs Zelim Tckaev (AZE)
Joonhwan Lee (KOR) vs Arslonbek Tojiev (UZB)