Mkheidze finds the finish in Tbilisi as -60 kg turns dramatic

The men’s lightest weight category brought speed and tension from the very first hajime in Tbilisi. Early on, the top half of the draw mostly followed the rankings, but the rest of the day quickly became far less predictable.

One of the biggest moments came in the semi-final between Giorgi Sardalashvili and Balabay Aghayev. Aghayev held a yuko lead and looked on course to shut down the Georgian in front of a loud home crowd. Sardalashvili kept pushing anyway, refusing to fade. With only 14 seconds left, he forced a last surge, got the score reviewed, and saw a Waza-ari confirmed to send him into the final.

In the lower half, Luka Mkheidze put together a very composed run. The French judoka, seeded fifth, came through the morning session with confidence and clean technique. That form carried him into the gold medal match and gave Europe another major storyline in this category.

The final had a clear emotional edge. Sardalashvili had the arena behind him, but Mkheidze stayed locked in on his own judo. With just under a minute and a half remaining, he created the opening, moved the action to the ground and finished with a reverse juji-gatame for Ippon.

Under pressure and noise, Mkheidze stayed sharply in control.

It was France’s second gold medal of the event after Boukli’s win at -48 kg. For Mkheidze, it also marked a second senior European title, another major result for one of the continent’s most proven lightweight athletes.

The first bronze medal match went to Izhak Ashpiz, who beat Dilshot Khalmatov. The young Israeli found his score with a well-timed ko-uchi and stepped onto a senior European podium for the first time. In the other bronze contest, Ahmad Yusifov defeated fellow Azerbaijani Balabay Aghayev to claim his second straight bronze medal in the category.

Source: EJU_News