Two gold medals for Poland at Euro Open Warsaw

The second day of the European Open in Warsaw brought more excitement for the home crowd as Poland secured its second gold medal of the weekend. Paweł Drzymal, fresh off his victory in Ljubljana, fought his way into the -81kg final, determined to add another title to his name. After a grueling semi-final, he had little time to recover before facing Toth Botond of Hungary.

The match was a tense affair, with Drzymal coming close to securing osae komi on multiple occasions, only for Toth to defend valiantly. As golden score loomed, the Polish fans braced themselves, but Drzymal delivered in the final moments, scoring yuko at the buzzer with a perfectly timed o soto gari that just clipped his opponent’s foot, igniting celebrations in the arena. Alongside with the gold by Angelika Szymańska on Saturday it was the second gold medal and best (and equal) performance for the host nation since 2022, only 2020 was better for Poland. 

In the -48kg category, Gemma Maria Gomez Antona of Spain met Brazil’s Clarice Ribeiro in a battle of patience and endurance. Neither judoka could find a way to break through in regulation time, forcing golden score. Just over a minute into extra time, Gomez seized the moment, using Ribeiro’s momentum and executing a powerful harai makikomi to take her second European Open gold medal.  

A major highlight of the day was the return of Tato Grigalashvili, the reigning -81kg World Champion and Olympic silver medallist, who stepped up to the -90kg category. He had the crowd captivated with his signature explosive style, mixing a variety of techniques and showcasing his elite level of control. In the final, he faced Tigo Renes of the Netherlands, who started aggressively, trying to unsettle the Georgian champion. But Grigalashvili remained patient, setting up with ashi waza before striking with a drop seoi nage for waza ari. A minute later, he went for another drop seoi but lost control, scoring only yuko. Renes, knowing he had nothing to lose, pressed forward, but Grigalashvili’s experience and skill proved too much. The Georgian took home the gold, marking his return to competition with a dominant performance.  

France’s Astride Gneto came in as a strong favorite in the -52kg category, but her path to gold was anything but easy. Enduring long golden score battles throughout the tournament, she had to dig deep against Tatum Keen of Great Britain in the final. In the end, a single yuko from a well-executed ko uchi gari was enough to secure the win and another title for the experienced French judoka.  

The -100kg final was a quick affair, as Israel’s Iosif Simin was unable to compete, handing the gold medal to Cyprus’ Aristos Michael without a contest.  

In the -57kg category, the final between Spain’s Ariana Rodriguez Salvador and France’s Alya De Carvalho was one of the most thrilling matches of the day. De Carvalho struck first with a massive uchi mata, but Rodriguez Salvador responded, leveling the score. With a minute remaining, De Carvalho turned up the intensity, continuing to attack until a drop sode secured the decisive yuko and the gold medal. It was an impressive return for Rodriguez Salvador, who had been recovering from injury. Her semi-final victory over Pleuni Cornelisse of the Netherlands had been a spectacular display, lasting only 32 seconds and ending with a breathtaking reverse kara guruma, but De Carvalho had the edge in the final.  

The tournament concluded with the +100kg final between Ukraine’s Yakiv Khammo and Austria’s Stephan Hegyi. The opening minutes were a battle of grips, with both athletes looking for an opening. At the midway point, Khammo found his moment, committing to an o soto gari that Hegyi could not escape, throwing him for ippon to claim the heavyweight gold. It was Khammo’s fifth consecutive victory over Hegyi, who continues to fight through multiple injuries but remains a formidable competitor.  

With two gold medals for the host nation and strong performances from elite judokas making their return to competition, the Warsaw European Open 2025 ended on a high note, delivering an exciting weekend of world-class judo.