Golden Score lifts Maisuradze as Cret and Ngayap-Hambou add European bronze highlights

Day three in Tbilisi brought real drama in the -90 kg category. The home crowd dreamed of an all-Georgian final, but that storyline broke apart in the semi-finals. Even so, the hosts still got the moment they had been waiting for by the end of the day.

Lasha Bekauri looked sharp on his way to the last four and carried strong momentum into the semi-final. There he ran into Nemanja Majdov, who fought with huge purpose throughout the day. The Serbian took control late and, with only one second left, finished the contest with an armlock. The arena fell quiet in an instant.

Luka Maisuradze kept his side of the draw moving in the right direction. In his semi-final, he countered Romania’s Alex Cret for Waza-ari and booked his place in the title match. The final against Majdov was tight, cautious and highly tactical, with both men working hard to stay active without opening the door to mistakes.

Golden Score felt inevitable, and that is where Maisuradze found the decisive moment. Using his strong sleeve grip, he finally broke through and scored Waza-ari to secure the European title. The response inside the Olympic Palace was massive as Georgia got its anthem on day three.

One grip change in Golden Score changed the whole atmosphere.

Behind the final, European athletes also delivered major performances. Alex Cret claimed bronze for Romania in style, throwing Thomas Scharfetter for Waza-ari with seoi-otoshi almost immediately, then finishing with kuzure-yoko-shiho-gatame. His day was already impressive after wins over Fatiyev and Olympic medallist Maxime-Gael Ngayap-Hambou.

The second bronze went to France through Maxime-Gael Ngayap-Hambou. Against Bekauri and a roaring home crowd, he stayed composed, scored early with a counter for Waza-ari and later finished the match with soto-makikomi. It was a strong response under pressure and gave the French judoka a second straight European medal.

Source: EJU_News