Georgian judoka wins gold in Romania (VIDEO)

A Georgian judoka has won a gold medal in a surprise upset where he defeated athletes ranked more than 100 places higher than him on official world rankings.

The gold medal was won by Onise Bughadze (+100kg) after he defeated four opponents at the European Judo Open in Cluj-Napoca, Romania.

Bughadze’s victory came as a surprise, as his ranking before the tournament was 138th in the world – significantly lower than two of his rivals who were ranked 10th and 15th place in official world rankings.

Meanwhile another Georgian judoka Vazha Margvelashvili (-66kg) came out of the tournament with a bronze medal. He lost his semi-final but won his last bout and received bronze.

Georgia presented ten athletes in three weight categories (-66, -100 and +100kg) in the Cluj-Napoca competition.

The event featured 319 judokas (212 males and 107 females) from 41 countries.