Belgium's Toma Nikiforov won gold for the first time in his career at the Tashkent Grand Slam tournament.
© Judo Vlaanderen
Toma Nikiforov, aged 28, already boasts a fine track record, having won bronze and silver medals in major tournaments. But he still lacked the supreme award on the world stage. He's finally got it!
On the tatami of Tashkent (Uzbekistan), our judoka was imperial on the way to the final, successively defeating the Mongolian Batkhuyag, the German Kurbjeweit, the Serbian Dosen and the Uzbek Turoboyev.
In the final of the under 100 kg category, Toma Nikiforov was up against the Bulgarian Boris Georgiev. Despite a penalty at the beginning of the fight, the Brussels judoka managed to get two waza-aris in a row, which earned him a victory by ippon before the scheduled end.
Our compatriot, who is a soldier in the Belgian Army when not defending his country on the tatami, can now dream of qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics!
