Superstars Draw Crowds On Day Two
Autor: Thea Cowen
Zuerst veröffentlicht bei / First published at: Superstars Draw Crowds On Day Two
Olympic and World Champions drew in a crowd on the second day of the La Nucia European Open 2025; both Lasha BEKAURI (GEO) and Nikoloz SHERAZADISHVILI (ESP) had the support of Georgian fans who arrived in the droves.
For both athletes, this was their return to competition following the Paris Olympic Games and in some case, return from injury and rehabilitation. With such targets on their backs, it is never easy to compete freely, the pressure to win is sometimes insurmountable in front of such expectant crowds. Nevertheless, Bekauri battled his way to the -90kg final and Sherazadishvili to that of -100kg.
Meeting Bekauri is Daniel NIETO TRINIDAD (ESP), and the pair have faced each other only once before in the European Club Championships when the Georgian came out on top after a brief meeting. Sherazadishvili will have a tough final against Piotr KUCZERA (POL), with a 1:1 record. Both head to heads were in prime event conditions, with the Spanish representative taking the third round win in the 2021 World Championships, eventually taking his second title, and Kuczera, the European Championship quarter final in 2022, where he finished second, both having moved up in to the -100kg category in the last cycle.
Day two is definitely serving the host nation better as Spain are guaranteed two medals, with potential for a further four bronze. Jorge CANO GARCIA will look to defeat Ido LEVIN (ISR) in the -81kg bronze contest, this is his second outing in the new weight category, previously finding success at -73kg.
At -48kg, the 2023 Cadet World Champion, Aitana DIAZ HERNANDEZ (ESP), will take on Lois PETIT (BEL), an opportunity to take her first continental open medal. There is a guaranteed bronze medal at -48kg as Mireia RODRIGUEZ SALVADOR and Gemma Maria GOMEZ ANTONA, and finally Adriana RODRIGUEZ SALVADOR will take on Maya LEOPOLD (ISR) for the -57kg bronze.
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