Mikhail Latyshev // Photo: ijf.org
Mikhail Latyshev won a silver medal in the weight category up to 90 kg. During the tournament, the 22-year-old athlete defeated opponents from Bulgaria, Estonia, Serbia and Azerbaijan. His opponent in the decisive fight was the two-time Olympic champion Lasha Bekauri (Georgia), who defeated his Moldovan counterpart. The bronze medals were won by representatives of Serbia Islam Sogenov and Nemanja Majdov.
Earlier this year Latyshev became vice-champion of Europe among youth at the tournament, held for the first time in Chisinau. He became the only Moldovan representative to reach the podium at the European Championships at home.
Victor Sterpu stopped one step away from the final in the weight category up to 81 kg. He defeated opponents from Austria, Georgia, Bahrain and Germany, but lost in the semifinals to future world champion Francois Gauthier-Drapo from Canada. The silver medalist was Abdul-Kerim Tasuev (Russia) and the second bronze medal was won by Sunatullo Musoev (Tajikistan).
The two medals allowed the national team of Moldova to take the final 15th place among 52 countries. Representatives of Russia, who for the first time since 2022 performed under the flag of their country (two gold and four silver medals), rose to the top of the ranking. The Japanese team was second (two gold and two bronze medals), while Germany rounded off the top three (two gold medals).
More than 350 athletes took part in the Grand Slam tournament and won 14 sets of medals.
