The Grand Slam judo tournament concluded in Tbilisi, Georgia. Ukrainian judokas won two medals at the competition: Mykhailo Svidrak won his debut silver medal in the 81 kg weight category, and Yulia Kurchenko won bronze in the 78 kg weight category.
All the Grand Slam judo matches took place in Tbilisi, Georgia. Athletes competed in 14 weight categories: seven each for men and women.
The athletes were divided into four “pools”, from which the winners advanced to the finals. Judoists who lost in the battle for the finals were placed in consolation matches, in which they had the opportunity to compete for the “bronze”.
How did Ukrainians win medals?
- Svidrak became the first medalist of the Grand Slam in Tbilisi. The Ukrainian began his path to the award by winning his “pool”, reaching the final part of the tournament.
- In the semifinals, the Ukrainian proved to be stronger than Serbian judoka Mihail Simin. And in the final, he came across the current champion of the competition, Vedat Albayrak from Turkey. As a result, Svidrak was defeated and finished the competition with “silver”. For the Ukrainian judoka, this award was his debut at the Grand Slam level.
- On the last day of the competition, Yulia Kurchenko brought another medal to Ukraine's achievements. Unlike Svidrak, the Ukrainian lost the decisive battle in her “pool” to Frenchwoman Audrey Tshemeau, as a result of which she was eliminated in a consolation match.
- On the way to the “bronze” confrontation, Yulia defeated the representative of Australia Maria Swan, after which she met with the British Emma Reid. This fight was the sixth for the judokas: the previous five fights were won by Kurchenko. Yulia was able to defeat the Briton for the sixth time – she won the “bronze”.
Ukraine's medals at the Judo Grand Slam in Tbilisi
- “Silver”: Mykhailo Svidrak (up to 81 kg)
- “Bronze”: Yulia Kurchenko (up to 78 kg)