Few nations combine passion for sport and national pride quite like Georgia. So what better occasion to highlight their nation’s top talent than at the upcoming European Championships in Tbilisi, Georgia, from 16-19 April?
With the final entries confirmed as of 27 March, the host nation officially fields one of the largest delegations in the competition, 18 judoka in total. As reigning mixed team world champions and bolstered by a team of world and Olympic champions, Georgia arrives with strength and depth across both the men’s and women’s divisions.
Let’s start with the men’s team, where star power is in no short supply.
Leading the charge is Georgia’s double Olympic champion at -90kg, Lasha Bekauri. The 25-year-old owns three continental titles, cadet, junior and senior, with his last senior European crown coming in 2021, just before the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. He has competed on home soil only twice, winning the Tbilisi Grand Slam in both 2023 and 2024. Can he extend that perfect record in front of a passionate home crowd?
Next is a man as dangerous at -90kg as he is at -81kg, three-time world champion Tato Grigalashvili. The Paris 2024 silver medallist is a threat everywhere, in tachi-waza, ne-waza, and in any tournament he enters. His recent gold in the heavier category at the 2026 Upper Austria Grand Prix underlines that range. Grigalashvili also holds six European Championship medals, including two senior titles, and arrives on an 18-event individual podium streak dating back to 2021.
Georgia’s strength at -90kg runs even deeper. The category has long been a national stronghold, and 2023 world champion Luka Maisuradze adds further pedigree. Fresh off Grand Slam gold on this very tatami last weekend, he returns to Tbilisi aiming for a second continental title.
In the heavier men’s categories, attention turns to several Olympic silver medallists, including reigning –100kg European champion Ilia Sulamanidze. Alongside him is another Olympic silver medallist, Guram Tushishvili, seeded second overall at +100kg and chasing his first European title since 2019. Vazha Margvelashvili, Tokyo 2020 Olympic silver medallist at -66kg, adds yet more depth to the host roster.
And still, there is more. Lasha Shavdatuashvili, the 32-year-old former world and Olympic champion at -73kg, remains one of the sport’s most enduring figures. With a full set of Olympic medals, gold, silver and bronze, he now looks to claim his first European title since 2013. Three of his Grand Slam victories have come in Tbilisi, and backed by the home crowd, he will, as always, be a contender.
On the women’s side, all eyes will be on judo pioneer and reigning world champion Eteri Liparteliani at -57kg, and mixed team gold medallist. The 26-year-old has claimed European titles at every age level except senior, cadet, junior, and U23, and arrives as the top seed at these senior championships, after taking silver at the 2025 European Championships. With two Grand Slam golds in Tbilisi already to her name, she will be aiming to go one step higher on the podium to complete her collection.
Also in the -57kg category is 21-year-old Nino Loladze, a rising talent who continues to impress on the European stage. The 2025 Tbilisi Grand Slam bronze medallist and four-time European junior medallist showed composure beyond her years at the most recent edition, finishing fifth, and will be one to watch.
Another name to note is Mariam Tchanturia. The former U23 European champion at -78kg is still searching for consistency at the senior level, but competing at home could provide the breakthrough moment she has been waiting for.
Follow the event live on JUDOTV.com and stay tuned for all of the results and updates on EJU.net.
Author: EJU Media