His place was taken by Talgat Orynbassar (KAZ) instead, who faced pool B favourite Izhak Ashpiz (ISR). On this occasion, the expected hierarchy held firm, as Ashpiz secured his place in the final.

In the bottom half of the draw, a potential final spot seemed within reach for Jorre Verstraeten (BEL), who opened his campaign with three consecutive wins. In the semi-final, however, he came up against Achyty Dombuu (RUS), a relative newcomer on the World Judo Tour.

With only two grand slam appearances in 2025 and no notable results to date, Dombuu arrived in Tbilisi ranked 141st in the world. Yet, far from being intimidated, he rose to the occasion, displaying composed and precise judo to book his place in a first final at this level.

After a cautious opening phase in the final, Izhak Ashpiz took control with a powerful counter to score waza-ari, while Dombuu found himself under additional pressure after receiving two penalties. The Russian judoka responded by scoring a yuko but Ashpiz remained focused and controlled the remainder of the contest to secure the gold medal.

In the first bronze medal contest, Samariddin Kuchkarov (UZB) faced Jorre Verstraeten (BEL). After 3 minutes and 15 seconds of golden score, Kuchkarov finally broke through, throwing his opponent with a reverse seoi-otoshi for ippon and claiming his first grand slam medal.

Artem Lesiuk (UKR) and Talgat Orynbassar (KAZ) met in the contest for the second bronze medal. A well-timed sumi-gaeshi, scoring a yuko, was enough for Orynbassar to secure bronze.