Sports
August 3, 2025
Successful Performance of Young Judokas: Medals at the Olympic Festival
JudoWorld SportsOlympic FestivalGeorgiaYouth Sports
The Youth Olympic Festival continues, hosted by the capital city of North Macedonia, Skopje. Our athletes have earned a total of 4 medals: 1 silver and 3 bronze. These medals were achieved by judokas, and we will provide detailed information about their performances.
In the judo tournament, the first medal was won by Saba Bolkvadze (-50kg). In the quarterfinal stage, the young athlete lost a match to Spanish judoka Alejandro Quiaron by a regrettable waza-ari. After that, Bolkvadze convincingly triumphed over Kiril Stec and Cohen Mackay Gilbert to secure his bronze medal.
On the same day, Alexi Guluashvili (-55kg) also had the opportunity to win a bronze medal, but he lost the final match to Swiss Silvano Cori. Prior to that, Guluashvili had to compete in 5 matches, winning 4 of them.
Another medal was added to the Georgian team’s tally by Vakhtang Chiaberashvili (-60kg), who overcame Greek, Slovenian, and Dutch opponents, but was defeated in the semifinals by Azerbaijani judoka Zeid Alasgarov. Afterwards, Chiaberashvili switched to the bronze medal contest and managed to defeat Swiss Timo Cori convincingly.
So far, the 4th competitive day has proven to be the most successful for Georgia, as we have gathered a total of 4 medals. Vasil Gamezardashvili (-73kg) won a silver medal: the Georgian judoka had 3 matches prior to the finals (all 100:0) and was only one match away from the gold medal, but he was defeated by Serbian Veliko Varnichich.
On the same day, Giorgi Mumladze (-81kg) also achieved success in the bronze medal match. The young judoka, who was the reigning champion among under-18s in Europe and the flag bearer for the Georgian team (alongside bullet shooter Lizi Agniashvili), started the tournament effectively and achieved 2 victories. Unfortunately, Mumladze's way to the finals was blocked by Ukrainian Mykhailo Solianik, but in the dispute for the bronze medal, our flag bearer defeated Slovenian Alex Krivechi with 2 waza-ari scores.
On July 25, the following Georgian athletes will compete at the Youth Olympic Festival: Nika Gogoberidze (Taekwondo, -73kg), Giorgi Zurabashvili (Judo, -90kg), Ioane Abalaki (Judo, +90kg), Nini Dzagania (Judo, -70kg), and Barbara Gelashvili (Judo, +70kg).
As a reminder, in the 18th Youth Olympic Festival, Georgia is represented by 36 athletes across 9 disciplines: Judo, Table Tennis, Badminton, Athletics, Swimming, Shooting, Cycling, Taekwondo, and Rhythmic Gymnastics. The tournament started on July 20 and will continue until July 26.
