Judoca Niko Shera, his two parents and his two passes: “I have the heart 'childbirth' in half”

When he arrived from Georgia at age 13, Shera found refuge in Judo and Quino Ruiz, a wonderful pupil who only wanted to train every day. Today is the clearest gold medal option in Spain at the Tokyo Games.

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But we go! Of course you can want two passes at once. I have the heart 'childbirth' in half, for Spain and for Georgia. In the case of Nikoloz Sherazadishvili (Tbilisi, Georgia, 1996), the homeland is the tatami. And its duality is explained with the common sense, extreme calm and obsession with which life and judo are taken. It is the number one in the world rankings in -90 kg and there is no gold option in the next clearer Tokyo Games for Spain, in which he was nationalized in 2014, because here he found his second father.

In Brunete's small gym, one winter night, Niko is the center of attention. Children who leave the training with their parents, and the companions of all nationalities who await the instructions to ask for photos Quino Ruiz They watch him with admiration. Right here a blond young man knocked on the door, barely knowing Castilian, but who wanted to train Judo every day. And I met the best coach and my second father. When you have a good teacher at school, it makes you like the subject. This is the same. He motivated me, made me set more goals. At the same time that he was demanding more from me, Shera remembers that he has just ratified his favorite condition at the Grand Slam in Paris, where he won after defeating the local Axel Clerget, one of his black beasts.

The Sherazadishvili family had arrived in Madrid in search of a future, although the father soon died, Zakaria, the one that had put into sport a sport that in Georgia is religion. The loss was one more incentive for those who already loved judo, for those who soon became a diamond. And neither nostalgia nor pressures influenced when choosing to compete. Niko opted for Spain because he was sitting that way and because it was the most reasonable. When the process started, nobody knew me, I had no results. Something is seen, but he was a junior first year. Later, some blamed Georgia for letting me go. But nobody really knew the story, what I had lived, what I felt at that moment, what my coach gave me, which was everything, clarifies, clearing controversies, who came to feel out of place in his two passes: In Georgia see me as a Spanish and in Spain as a Georgian.

The limits of the father-son relationship

Quino, a national legend, shaped him like a son, because he sensed not only qualities in his eyes, but a passion and respect that he no longer remembered in anyone, a kid who sees judo videos as entertainment. And as in any paternal-filial relationship, the boundaries are touched, because there is no other way to achieve perfection. I am a bighead. He has to show me things a lot. I trust him, but I have my opinion. But never, training and licking me, I answered wrong. Our anger makes me stronger, describes the ward.

Niko is so clear that all eyes are on him that leaves no random detail. I train three times a day. In the morning, early, a physical preparation of an hour and a half. Rest and at 11 I will do physical, about two hours: weights, a circuit … And in the afternoon, judo. And that is my day: train, rest, watch many videos, study rivals …. A ritual thoroughness that goes from the physical to the technical, through the mental, because it also observes the tatami as a game of chess where some are left-handed, others more resistant, others right-handed, more explosive, slower. Every one is a world. There is a lot of gripping work that people don't understand.

I know that everyone has my medal. But I try to see it with a positive perspective. People trust me and that gives me a plus. On July 29, in the mystic Tokyo Budokan Nippon, Niko repeat his ceremony again in search of a summit with which to honor his two parents and his two passes, as he did in 2018 when he reached the world gold in Bak – first in the history of Spain – and Quino cried more than if he himself, who competed in three Games and was runner-up in the world, he would have succeeded. The competition day I am so focused that I don't think about anything. There are people who get music. I nothing. I go out, fight, come back from the tatami, rest. I am able to fall asleep between combat and combat. People do not understand. There are partners who drink coffee and do not sleep until the next day. I do not want anything. I focus on that moment and disconnect, explain about that Zen state that acts in reverse on those around him, total alarm: My colleagues and coaches get nervous. But act!

OLYMPIC TEST

Your favorite memory of Olympic history?

When I was little I saw Zurab Zviadauri in 2004, the first Georgian Olympic champion. I won the fighting spectacularly, it was very impressive. I felt the feeling of wanting to be there, of wanting to win.

If he achieves a medal, where will he celebrate it?

In Georgia, being with the mos. And with my coach and those of my Brunete club.

What athlete do you admire?

I am struck by those who, in addition to good athletes, are good people. Iker Casillas, Rafa Nadal … They are examples to follow.

Your forbidden food?

From Spain, the potato and Georgian tortilla, the xinkali (pork and beef patties) and acharuli khachapuri (cheese bread). I love.

Is linked by social networks?

S. If I say no, lie.