Riner dominated in the semi-final the Georgian Gela Zaalishvili, 8th in the world, under the encouragement of his relatives, who came in large numbers to the Hungarian capital. He won with commitment after 1’24” of combat. The outcome could have been even more expedited since the central referee had given ippon to the French after 33 seconds of confrontation before being disavowed by the table judges.
In the previous round, the Guadeloupean defeated the strong Azerbaijani Ushangi Kokauri, 9th in the world rankings and vice-world champion in 2018. He won on penalties after 2’50” of combat without really needing to attack his opponent.
