Ivan Chernykh surprise victory in Tbilisi

The final match for the men's U66kg category at the Tbilisi Grand Slam featured Sardor Nurillaev from Uzbekistan facing off against Ivan Chernykh from Azerbaijan. When Nurillaev received his third penalty in golden score, Chernykh emerged as the victor, claiming his very first gold medal in a grand slam and on the World Judo Tour overall. Chernykh's unexpected success may reflect the current shortage of world-class athletes in the U66kg category.

Meanwhile, one of the host country's strongest medal contenders, Vazha Margvelashvili, the Tokyo 2020 Olympic silver medallist, faced Ivan Chernykh in the semi-final after defeating Juan Hernandez from Colombia in the early rounds. Despite Margvelashvili's promising start, Chernykh's momentum propelled him into the final after his victory over Italian Matteo Piras.

In the bronze medal contests, Ruslan Pashayev from Azerbaijan faced Matteo Piras from Italy in a tense battle that saw penalties awarded only towards the end of normal time and into golden score. Ultimately, it was Pashayev who managed to summon the last reserves of energy, executing a precise ashi-waza to secure the medal.

Azerbaijan had another chance at a bronze medal with Rashad Yelkiyev, who faced Willian Lima from Brazil. However, Lima swiftly executed a powerful seoi-otoshi, earning an ippon victory over Yelkiyev.

For the top seed, Willian Lima from Brazil, the day began slowly. Despite receiving a bye in the first round, he faced tough challenges in subsequent rounds, securing victories through tactical prowess and penalties. However, he ultimately fell to Nurillaev in the semi-final, who then progressed to the final after overcoming opponents such as Davut Toktay from Turkey, Orlando Polanco from Cuba, and Ravshan Nasriddinov from Azerbaijan.