El judoca espaol Nikoloz Sherazadishvili, -90 kg world bicampen, debut next week in its new -100 kg category at the Portuguese Grand Prix (28-30), where you will see a competitor “heavier, but not fatter”, and who feels happy because he will no longer have to “starve” to meet the scale.
“I’m not fatter, but I’ve gained weight. I’ve always had problems with my weight and at -90 kg I was literally starving,” Niko told the International Federation (IJF). “The good thing about having changed, at least the nicest thing, is that now I’m not hungry anymore. But I have to eat well, in a healthy way. The key is to gain muscle mass, not fat,” he added.
I am not fatter, but I have put on weight. I have always had problems with my weight and at -90 kg I am literally starving.
In this sense, the judoka of Georgian origin, resident in Madrid for eleven years, assured that “at -90 kg he was one of the tallest (190 cm) and in general that is an advantage. But I have seen that being one of the tallest one of the tallest at -100 kg. The difference is in the power. There is more force here.”
Sherazadishvili had already planned to gain weight in 2021, but the pandemic delayed the calendar and also his plans. He competed in -90 at the postponed Tokyo Games, where he missed the podium despite his recent world title. “I’m not ready to talk about Tokyo, not yet,” he told the IJF.
The change in category is “a logical evolution” that forces you to start from the bottom. “We are working on it, I have two or three new things, but I prefer to talk on the tatami,” he said.
At the Portuguese GP he will meet the local star, the world champion and Olympic bronze medalist in -100 kg, Jorge Fonseca. “I know Jorge very well, he is a friend and we have met in many club competitions. I know his style and he knows mine,” he said. “There are very good people, Jorge Fonseca of course, but also the Korean Cho Gu-ham (Olympic silver) or the Russian Arman Adamian and especially the current Japanese Olympic champion Aaron Wolf. For me he is the best because his technical repertoire is more wide and also always looking for the ippon”.
We are working on it, I have two or three new things, but I prefer to talk on the mat
“When I compete I give everything, I don’t save any energy. It would be ridiculous for me to say that I hope to win two or three tournaments, I want to win them all! Another thing is that it is possible, but I don’t design the season based on a handful of victories”, ensure the Spanish.
The world championships that will be held in October in Tashkent are, however, the great objective of the season to start next weekend in the Portuguese town of Almada, in the Tagus estuary, opposite Lisbon.
