Luka Maisuradze claims the world title by surprise

The world championships final for men U90kg was a straight-up battle to see who could out-Georgian the other and the sizeable Georgian contingent in the crowd added to the atmosphere in the ABHA Arena. Both players chose to attack using what has come to be known widely as the Georgian grip, that is, a cross-grip with the strong hand over the back on the opponent’s belt. Both were able to enter into their powerful attacks consistently, prompting many last-ditch escapes to avoid conceding a score.

Creativity was key to finding a way through and it was Maisuradze who eventually found the magic spark needed in golden score, spinning backwards behind Bekauri to throw the Olympic champion over the top of him and score waza-ari, similarly to how Bekauri threw Murao earlier. Maisuradze roared in the direction of his supporters; he was world champion! Bekauri had to settle for silver and the two shared a warm embrace as the referee awarded the fight.

The first bronze medal was a contest between Parlati and Marcus Nyman (SWE). The 32-year-old had utilised his sumi-gaeshi and ne-waza to great effect in the earlier rounds, knocking out number 8 seed Mehdiyev (AZE) along the way. This time sasae-tsurikomi-ashi was his weapon of choice and he tripped the Italian. Athough it looked like Parlati would land on his front, Nyman used his hands well, to continue driving his opponent over and get the side landing he needed. This was the Swede’s 2nd world bronze after winning the first in Budapest in 2021.

The second bronze medal contest saw Murao take on Ivan Felipe Silva Morales (CUB). The former world silver medallist had previously knocked out Van 't End in a bruising repechage match-up. Murao managed the fight well, keeping his distance and ensuring Silva’s attacks went nowhere. Silva tired quickly and Murao struck in the 3rd minute of golden score, hopping in for an o-soto-gari for which the Cuban had no answer. Ippon was scored and it was for a 1st world medal for the Japanese judoka at only his 2nd attempt.

The U90kg weight category is one full of clashing styles. There are supreme technicians, powerful throwers and masters of endurance. The top 16 athletes in the category have changed relatively little over the past 5 years and the top seeds always bring their A-game. Six of the eight seeded players making it through to the quarter-final stage.

With 2022 world champion at U90kg, Davlat Bobonov (UZB), absent due to injury, one major roadblock was removed, particularly for last year’s other medallists looking to go one step further than they did in Tashkent. The two Georgian entrants, Tokyo Olympic champion Lasha Bekauri and twice-world medallist Luka Maisuradze, had even more motivation than the rest, being in direct competition for the Olympic place for Georgia at this weight. Ranked number 3 and 7 respectively in the world, they both won bronze at these championships last year and together they contested the final of the recent Tbilisi Grand Slam, with Bekauri coming out on top. With just over a year left to go before the Paris Olympic Games, it was still all to play for and both were searching for a first senior world title.

Bekauri’s first contest was in round 2 against IJF World Judo Tour veteran Ustopiriyon (TJK), whom he dispatched with a typically strong soto-makikomi 2 minutes in. Next up was 2017 world champion Majdov (SRB), whose last win against Bekauri was at the Baku Grand Slam  in 2019. It was a fascinating bout, with Majdov trying to counter Bekauri’s strong cross-grip with his unusual kata-guruma but a waza-ari scored using obi-tori-gaeshi at the end of the 1st minute was enough to send the Olympic champ through to the quarters. There he faced Lorsanov (AIN), who already had 3 solid wins under his belt over Foubert (BEL), Krieber Gagnon (CAN) and then Macedo (BRA). The Georgian came out like a whirlwind, throwing Lorsanov in the first exchange with harai-goshi for waza-ari, which he later followed with soto-makikomi to score a second waza-ari and book a semi-final spot.

His opponent in the semi was the current world number 2 and Jerusalem Masters 2022 champion, Sanshiro Murao (JPN). Murao is an ashi-waza specialist and threw all three of his earlier opponents with his ken-ken-o-uchi-gari; Grigorian (UAE), Florentino (DOM) and Nyman (SWE) were the latest victims of the Japanese judoka’s impeccable technique and reaching legs. The clash of styles with Bekauri made for a dramatic semi-final. Murao struck first, scoring waza-ari with uchi-mata after 90 seconds. Bekauri, already fired up, responded 30 seconds later with a speedy sumi-gaeshi to level the scores. In the next exchange the Georgian threw again, this time with an unusual sacrifice throw; Murao couldn’t believe what had happened. Job done for Bekauri, for the time being.

For Maisuradze, it was a case of ‘anything you can do, I can do too.’ He first faced Goz (HUN) in round 2, throwing and holding the Hungarian with o-soto-gari and kesa-gatame, respectively. In round 3 he came up against Zgank (TUR) and he threw the Turkish fighter confidently twice in the space of a minute, first with o-soto-otoshi for waza-ari and later harai-makikomi for ippon.

In the quarter-final, 2019 world champion Noel Van 't End (NED) was his adversary. The Dutchman has rediscovered his best form recently, winning both the 2023 Paris and Antalya Grand Slams but he was dominated by Maisuradze, who managed the fight carefully and the fight ended with a 3rd penalty for Van 't End, who attempted to throw while clamping the Georgian’s leg with his arm. This win set up a repeat of the semi-final from last year’s world championship, as last year’s silver medallist Christian Parlati (ITA) would be his next opponent.

Maisuradze was clearly very keen to avoid a repeat of that semi-final and remained cautious throughout the fight. Around 3 minutes in, he spotted his opportunity, avoiding an ashi-waza attempt from the Italian and rolling him over for waza-ari using uki-otoshi. With no shidos on the board, Maisuradze defended sensibly for the final minute and held on to set up an all-Georgian final with Maisuradze as new World Champion, the second for Georgia ever in this class after Irakli Tsirekidze  in 2007 who is present in Doha as well to witness the impression results the Georgian team.