Niko Sherazadishvili left Tokyo apologising to his coach, Quino Ruiz, after a performance that fell short of his objectives. He went for gold in the -90kg category and lost the bronze repechage. In Paris his gestures were not as good, but he was also disappointed with his performance. Once again, under the scorching rings of the Games, his performance and achievement were less than expected. “I am not at my best. I am very good when training, but here I am overcome by nerves because I care a lot and I want to achieve it. I notice it when I step onto the tatami. Until then my feelings are very good, I was physically very well, and I had enjoyed the journey and the preparation. But when I get on the tatami I am a bit lacking,” confessed this 28-year-old judoka, now in the -100kg category, who once again left without a medal.
Double world champion in -90 (2018 and 2021) and current European bronze medallist, the Games are not for him. He already started the morning on the counterattack. He was spared the first match because he was seeded, but in the round of 16 he had to come back against the Hungarian Zsombor Veg, who had already scored a Waza-Ari on him within a few seconds. He equalised early and won with an Ippon with a minute and a half left, however, that counterattack made him suspect that this Thursday might not be the case either. “Even if you win, you will be able to win.” [el primer combate]you feel that it didn’t turn out the way I would have liked. I don’t mean to disrespect any competitor, but I was very well prepared so that nobody could do anything to me. That was my feeling. Sometimes I am too much of a perfectionist, although I can’t master everything,” he said honestly.
The quarterfinals seemed favorable for him because the Canadian of Egyptian origin Shandy Elnahas (world silver in May) had disappeared from the map, defeated by the Swiss Daniel Eich (14th in the world). ranking), but Niko also fell into the clutches of the Swiss with a Waza-Ari in the middle of the fight. “I shouldn’t have lost it,” he said afterwards. That led him to the repechage to fight alone for the bronze. First he beat the Japanese Aaron Wolf (gold in Tokyo) in an agonising fight decided with an Ippon after 2 minutes and 47 seconds in the golden point, but in the last station he fell to the Uzbek Muzaffarbek Turoboyev, a two-metre pivot who defeated him with two Waza-Ari in a row. “He was better,” he admitted, “but even so I wasn’t 100% myself,” he added.
“I will do what I like the most”
Is there any parallel to what happened in Tokyo? he was asked in the corridors of the Champ de Mars. “Maybe, a little. Not at that level, because in Tokyo I was worse, but here I have not been good enough to win a medal,” he said. Three years ago, Sherazadishvili left with his family for Georgia (he is originally from there), where he considered the possibility of quitting judo. That was the end of his disappointment. “Now,” he replied about his short and medium-term plans, “I am going to switch off and do what I like the most. For me, health is above all. If that is what motivates me, I will continue,” he said.
She thus closed, in bad taste, a three-year Olympic cycle in which she had to adapt to the change of category (from -90 to -100 kilos), although with the relief of no longer starving herself to control her weight; and in which she suffered a torn cruciate ligament in her right knee that kept her out of competition for nine months (between December 2022 and September 2023). She put all the pieces in place to arrive in Paris as a top seed and a medal contender, but this time she didn’t go either. At 28, she avoided being clear about her plans for Los Angeles 2028.
With his performance, the Spanish judo competition ended in individual competition. The only winner was Fran Garrigós (-60) who won bronze. This Saturday, Spain will compete in the team category, although the distribution of weights greatly reduces their chances of success.
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