Arbuzov takes over in Tbilisi as Simin breaks through and Europe’s depth shows

Day three in Tbilisi delivered a final that exploded almost instantly. Timur Arbuzov arrived at the top of the draw and had to navigate a bracket filled with proven names. When the title match came, he produced his sharpest judo at exactly the moment it mattered most.

Facing home favourite Tato Grigalashvili, Arbuzov set the tone from the opening exchange. He scored Waza-ari with Seoi-otoshi, then followed with a Yuko from Ko-uchi-gari. Before the crowd could fully recover, he finished the contest with Ippon on the third scoring action.

The final was decided in a burst of attacking judo.

That sequence hit hard in a packed Georgian arena, because Grigalashvili had done his part to carry local hopes into the last bout. The number two seed moved through to the semi-final and edged past Azerbaijan’s Zelim Tckaev to reach the gold medal match. That made the result even more striking: Arbuzov did not just win, he shut down the home star with total clarity.

Behind the title fight, Europe still had plenty to talk about. Serbia’s Mihajlo Simin put together one of the most eye-catching runs of the day. The young judoka defeated Belgium’s Matthias Casse in a major upset, then pushed Arbuzov hard in the semi-final before losing by a single Yuko.

Simin returned for bronze and found a way through a difficult contest with Finland’s Eetu Ihanamaki. Their match went into golden score with little between them, and it was a counter to Yuko that settled it. That medal gave Serbia its first podium finish of the 2026 European Championships.

There was frustration too for some established European names. Casse responded strongly after falling behind early against Tckaev in the first bronze contest, but could not turn the match around. Ihanamaki also left without a medal, yet his run to the later stages showed how demanding and deep this category was from start to finish.

Simin’s bronze may feel like a beginning, not an endpoint.

Source: EJU_News