Top Seed Golden Debut / IJF.org

Grand Slam Hungary 2022

Top Seed Golden Debut

Jul 8, 2022

by: Nicolas Messner, Pedro Lasuen

Emanuele Di Feliciantonio, Tamara Kulumbegashvili

Here, at least, the two favourites met in the final. Belgian Jorre Vestraeten made his debut as first seed. The boy is not ungrateful and flew to the final, non-stop, based on ippon. It is seen that when he has an opportunity he takes it. Opposite, not to waver from the rankings, a Georgian and former world champion. It is very unusual not to find a Georgian in any final. In this category, the chosen one was Lukhumi Chkhvimiani, who is in the downward phase of his career, with more honours than medals, but who is still capable of upsetting the youngsters and getting into a final, a contest between the world number nine, the Belgian, and the tenth, the veteran warrior.

Jorre Vestraeten defeating Lukhumi Chkhvimiani

The golden score was reached, until then the initiative had been with the Georgian, but only until then. Verstraeten won his second grand slam gold medal with ashi-waza, with a great drive from the hands.

Romain Valadier Picard is a French junior with great style and top reviews from experts. The future could be his! In Budapest he fought for bronze against the Kazakh Bauyrzhan Narbayev and won his second grand slam medal via a fantastic morote-seoi-nage.

Romain Valadier Picard defeating Bauyrzhan Narbayev

Temur Nozadze wanted to second his compatriot Chkhvimiani and add another medal for Georgia. For this he had to overcome the Mongolian Ariunbold Enkhtaivan. A first waza-ari, ko-uchi-gari combined with tsuri-goshi and turned into soto-makikomi, brand of the house for Nozadze and everything to do for the Mongolian. He was close but made a mistake and Nozadze finished him off with o-uchi-gari. These Georgians are insatiable when it comes to medals.