Golden Score twist at -66 kg: Saha takes silver as Khyar and Bayramov reach the podium

Luukas Saha came into Tbilisi as the top seed, and for most of the day the Finn looked ready to justify that position. The world and European medallist moved through the early rounds with confidence, often using sharp ne-waza to create the difference. From a European perspective, it was an encouraging run from one of the division’s key names.

The final brought a major test against Murad Chopanov, another athlete with strong European credentials across junior, U23 and senior events. Saha attacked immediately and nearly changed the whole contest in the opening exchange with a big pick-up. For a moment it looked like a dream start, but the review showed the landing was not enough to score, so the match stayed level.

One review changed the mood of the final in an instant.

From there, the bout turned into a tense battle of endurance and timing. Neither judoka could find a score in regular time, and even in golden score the pace did not drop. Just over a minute into extra time, Chopanov completed his own pick-up with a more convincing finish, and yuko appeared on the board. That decided gold for Chopanov and left Saha with silver after a very fine campaign.

Even without the title, Saha’s result still stands out. He backed up his seeding, stayed dangerous throughout the final and showed again why he belongs among the top contenders in this category.

The first bronze medal match delivered exactly the action many expected. Walide Khyar of France took control against Davit Abrahamyan with two well-timed sumi-gaeshi, and the second brought Ippon. Ten years after his first senior European medal, Khyar added a fourth with this bronze.

Turan Bayramov then completed the podium by defeating Abdullakh Parchiev. Their contest was tight and physical for a long stretch, but Bayramov found the breakthrough with 90 seconds left, combining seoi-otoshi and tani-otoshi for Ippon. After several near-misses at senior continental level, he finally has his medal.

European judoka still left a strong mark on this -66 kg story.

Source: EJU_News