Theodoros Tselidis achieved the greatest distinction of his career in a Grand Slam, perhaps the most critical moment on the road to “Paris 2024”. The two-time “bronze” European champion, under the guidance of national coach Nikos Iliadis, won the gold medal in the -90 kg Grand Slam held in the capital of Uzbekistan and is now well on his way to Olympic qualification. For Tselidis, this was the second Grand Slam medal, after last June in Kazakhstan, he was on the third step of the winners’ podium.
The 27-year-old Tselidis, who before the Tashkent Grand Slam was ranked 24th (essentially on the… threshold of the qualifiers), secured 1,000 points with the medal he took in Tashkent and will gain at least 5 places in the rankings to be announced next week .
The Greek judoka defeated the Brazilian Ferreira, the Belarusian Varapagieu, who was competing under the IJF flag, in a row, while he qualified for the semi-finals after defeating the Romanian Cret. In his fight to enter the final, he defeated Russia’s Igolnikov who was also competing under the IJF flag, and celebrated winning the gold medal after defeating Bulgaria’s Ivailo Ivanov.
Tselidis’ medal was Greece’s 13th at a Grand Slam, with Elisavette Teltsidou having six (4 gold, 2 bronze), Ilias Iliadis three (2 gold, 1 silver), while Iulietta Boukouvala has two (1 gold , 1 bronze).
According to the competition plan, next week the Greek judoka will take part in the Grand Prix of Austria, while on March 24 he will take part in the Grand Slam in Tbilisi.
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