Ivaylo Ivanov won a bronze medal at the prestigious Grand Slam judo tournament in Baku, achieving exceptional success in the category up to 90 kilograms. His path to the distinction was filled with strong and memorable moments that once again proved his high professionalism in sports.

Ivanov began his tournament with a quick Ipon win in 1:59 against Belgium’s Karel Foubert, followed by a win over Israel’s Guy Gurevich despite losing to France’s Alexi Mathieu. In the repechages, the Bulgarian judoka continued to demonstrate his skills, winning two more fights – against Husen Halmurzaev from Russia and against Ivan Felipe Morales Silva from Cuba.

Before winning the bronze, Ivanov recorded five consecutive victories in the main draw of the competition before being stopped in the semi-finals by Romanian competitor Alex Cret. Kret, for his part, failed to reach the gold medal after suffering an ippon defeat to 2019 world champion Noel Van T End of the Netherlands in the final.