Still dangerous at 36: Tatalashvili’s long road from Georgia’s golden teams to UAE success

Nugzari Tatalashvili keeps proving that time doesn’t automatically take your edge away. At 36, the Georgian-born judoka continues to compete at international level while representing the United Arab Emirates, using experience and composure to stay relevant on an ever-faster circuit. His career has become a snapshot of modern judo, where movement between federations and long competitive lives are increasingly part of the story.

His roots, and many of his biggest achievements, are deeply European. Back in 2009, he announced himself with bronze at the European Junior Championships. Not long after, he became part of Georgia’s feared team era, contributing to European team titles in 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2016. Georgia also enjoyed European Open team successes in the same period, underlining how strong that generation was.

Longevity is one thing, but staying competitive across eras is the real flex.

On the individual side, he built a reputation through results and a clear identity on the tatami. He won the Grand Prix in Tbilisi twice, in 2014 and 2016, and also took a World Cup title in 2012. His judo is described as classical Georgian: powerful gripping, direct intent, and constant pressure, often driven by right-sided O-soto-gari and O-uchi-gari.

He also navigated weight changes, competing at U73kg before moving up after the Rio 2016 Olympic cycle. A brief return to the lighter category in 2021 brought two World Tour bronze medals, though internal competition stopped an Olympic qualification push, and he later settled again in U81kg.

Since switching to the UAE in 2022, he has added new highlights: bronze at the Budapest Grand Prix and bronze at the Asian Championships that year, then bronze at the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam in 2023. In 2024 he collected bronze at the Tbilisi Grand Slam and silver at the Asian Championships in Hong Kong.

One of the standout moments of his late career arrived in 2025, when he reached the final of the Paris Grand Slam and came away with silver in a strong field. He competed at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, losing to Wang Ki-Chun, and at Paris 2024 he represented the UAE but was beaten by Adrian Gandia. Even so, he remains active, recently competing in Tashkent at the Grand Slam, and continues to feel like a link between Georgia’s golden generation and the UAE’s present ambitions.

Source: JudoInside