Finally World Tour gold for Kanta Nakano

The heavyweight final of the Zagreb Grand Prix unfolded as expected, with Kanta Nakano (JPN) showcasing the dominant judo he had displayed throughout the day. Nakano secured two throws in the final to claim the last gold medal of the tournament, adding yet another victory for Japan in the competition. Finally gold after bronze this year in the Paris Grand Slam.

In the first bronze medal match, Lucas Lima (BRA) faced Jelle Snippe (NED). Snippe initially seemed to be on track to win, scoring with an osae-komi, but was disqualified for using his head to throw his opponent, handing the bronze medal to Lima. This result marked a dramatic exit for Snippe, the tournament’s top seed, who had been expected to go further in the competition.

The second bronze medal match featured Yevheniy Balyevskyy (UKR) against Movli Borchashvilli (AUT). Borchashvilli executed a flawless sasae-tsuri-komi-ashi, scoring ippon and securing his first-ever medal on the World Judo Tour, a significant achievement for the Austrian judoka.

Nakano's path to the gold was marked by impressive displays of technical mastery. He won his opening bout against Marvin Belz (GER) with a textbook hiza-guruma, followed by an okuri-eri-jime submission against Igor Vracar (SRB) in the quarterfinal. In the semi-final, Nakano faced Movli Borchashvilli and took control early, scoring waza-ari with an uchi-mata. Though Borchashvilli briefly escaped an immobilisation, Nakano soon ended the contest with a powerful ashi-guruma to earn his place in the final.

Elsewhere, Lucas Lima of Brazil delivered some standout performances, including a 36-second ko-soto-gari victory against Jur Spijkers (NED) in the first round and a harai-makikomi throw that secured his semi-final spot. However, his run for gold was halted by Grzegorz Teresinski (POL) in the semi-final, relegating Lima to the bronze medal contest.

The heavyweight competition concluded with Nakano’s decisive win, giving Japan the final gold of the Zagreb Grand Prix and underscoring the depth of judo talent displayed throughout the tournament.