This medal is a strong sign sent to the world that Georgia is one of those countries in an advanced transition phase in the development of judo for both men and women. We know that this is the policy of the Georgian Judo Federation and it shows its efficiency. This bodes well for judo and the years to come. Eteri, who was junior world champion in 2019 and who has 12 medals on the World Judo Tour to her credit, is the spearhead of this Georgian team. She is an example for a whole generation of young girls who also want to shine internationally.
We will remember that this day was very special for her for a more personal reason too. In addition to her magnificent result, she had a very special proposal at the end of her final. As she left the tatami, her boyfriend, Temur Nozadze, 27th in the world at -60 kg and twice winner of the Tbilisi Grand Slam (2021 and 2022), proposed to her in front of a todlaly engrossed audience. She said 'YES!' The emotion was at its peak. Today Eteri Liparteliani was a double winner. We wish them the best of luck and happiness now and in the future.
The -57 kg category was once again marked by the domestic fight between Jessica Klimkait and Christa Deguchi, this time the advantage going to Klimkait with the silver medal while Deguchi had to be content with the bronze.
It should also be noted that it was not good to be seeded today, since none of the top seeded judoka managed to reach the final and win. Competition is tough and the approach of the world championships and the Olympic Games whets appetites. At the end of the day, Nurkanat Serikbayev (KAS), Hyekyeong Lee (KOR), Ariane Toro Soler (ESP), Ivan Chernykh and of course Eteri Liparteliani won gold and much more than that.
The second day of competition will be the playing field for the middle weight categories, -63 kg and -70 kg for the women, and -73 kg and -81 kg categories for the men, all in action from 9:00 a.m. The final block is still scheduled for 5:00 p.m. Follow us on https://judotv.com/