Vladimir Gladkikh lifts European Championship title for third time

Today, Vladimir came away with the third title of the best sambo practitioner of the European continent at the European Championship, being held in Limassol (Cyprus). He already captured the same title in 2017 and 2019.

When approaching the final in the weight class up to 58kg, he clearly was outstripping his opponents, steamrolling them with his favorite painful holds. However, it was clear that a real challenge lay ahead. On the other side of the draw, a multiple World and European Champion, a Georgian sambist - Vakhtang Chidrashvili – was also working towards his goal. Quite naturally, the Championship title was bound to be decided between these outstanding professionals. They knew each other perfectly well and repeatedly competed on the mat, as well as at the European Championships. If Gladkikh beat Chidrashvili by submission in the 2017 final, next year he was defeated by the Georgian athlete in the first bout and blew his chances to battle for a gold medal.

Not surprisingly, their 2021 pivotal encounter appeared to be tense and tough. Just a short-term “limp” performance might have cost the win. The bout was so nerve-racking and physically demanding that at the end of it both contestants were unable to catch their breath and leave the mat for a little while. The victory went to our sambist and appeared to be a close-run thing – he won on warning declared to his opponent. The sambo practitioner from UMMC Sambo Club turned out to be stronger, above all, tactically, and repeated the achievement of his clubmate, Dmitri Lebedev, who is also a three-time European Champion.