Georgia’s Lasha Bekauri made history on Wednesday as he claimed the country’s first Olympic gold medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. The 21-year-old beat Eduard Trippel in the final of the men’s judo 90kg category. After the Georgian starlet won by a waza-ari in regular time, he reflected on his “unbelievable” achievement.
“Of course this was a special day in my career. I am just 21 years old, so it was a bit unbelievable for me that at such a young age I became an Olympic champion,” Bekauri remarked. “This is just the beginning because I would like to be a four-time Olympic champion.”
Georgia has been shining at judo so far, having won one gold and two silver medals as of Wednesday.
As for the host nation, judoka Chizuru Arai notched sixth gold. She beat Austria’s Michaela Polleres in the final of the women’s under 70-kilogram class on Wednesday.
Arai’s win came after Uta Abe grabbed Japan’s first gold medal at 52 kg. This is the first time two female Japanese stars have won two weight divisions in judo since the 2008 Beijing Games.