Nathan Katz – Nathan showed some good form disposing of his first opponent Alshamsi (UAE) quite quickly with ground-work transition to strangle. His Round of 16 match was against multiple Grand Prix medalist and World Top 20 player Nurillaev (UZB) who won Marrakesh GP a month earlier. Nathan played a measured strategy with some good gripping and Ashi-Waza but had to defend in Ne-Waza and conceded 2 Shidos going into Golden Score. His momentum picked up and he attacked well with Uchi-Mata and Seoi-Nage. 2 minutes into GS, Nathan dropped for an attack and was countered with Sumi-Gaeshi for Waza-Ari, a tough match and a strong effort giving him some impetus going into the Baku GS preparation.