Petriashvili, the Olympic bronze medallist in the category at  Rio 2016, had never won a world crown but ensured that record ended today with a dramatic 10-8 win over the two-time champion.

It marked the first gold medal of these Championships for Georgia and, without doubt, was the best result of the 23-year-old's career.

Iran also topped the podium for the first time in the French capital thanks to Olympic 74kg champion Hassan Yazdani.

He proved his decision to move up to 86kg was the right one, beating Russian-born Slovakian Boris Makoev in the gold medal match.

Haji Aliyev of Azerbaijan secured his third consecutive World Championships title as he triumphed over Russian Gadzhimurad Rashidov at 61kg.

The 57kg honours went the way of Japan's Yuki Takahashi.

He defied the odds to claim a surprise gold medal in the 57kg as he overcame American Thomas Gilman in the final.

Those inside the Arena were treated to a real slug-fest of a heavyweight contest, with Petriashvili and Akgül trading scores on a regular basis in a match where the momentum continually swung backwards and forward.

The Turkish favourite started the brighter of the two and quickly raced into a 4-0 lead.

Petriashvili, the 2016 European champion, managed to stay in the match and turned the contest on its head in the second period as a series of perfectly-executed throws saw him move 6-4 in front.

Two more for Petriashvili gave him some breathing space but he was not allowed to relax.

Akgul demonstrated the power and character which had seen him claim gold at the 2014 and 2015 World Championships by levelling at 8-8.

As the clock ticked down, both knew one score would likely be enough and so it proved when Petriashvili threw his opponent to the floor to seal victory in an encounter described as one of the best ever at this level.

Nick Gwiazdowski of the United States marked his first World Championships appearance with bronze as he defeated Zolboo Natsagsuren of Mongolia in the opening 125kg bronze medal encounter.

Armenia's Levan Berianidze joined him on the podium with victory over Russian Anzor Khizriev.

Aliyev arrived here as the favourite in the 61kg category and he did not disappoint, storming through the preliminary rounds on his way to the gold medal clash with Rashidov.

The Olympic bronze medallist at 57kg, whose previous World Championships victories came in 2014 and 2015, was too strong for Rashidov in the final and secured the title by fall.

Olympic 57kg champion Vladimer Khinchegashvili would have hoped to be challenging for the gold medal but was forced to settle for bronze as he overcame Cengizhan Erdoğan of Turkey.

The other bronze medal on offer in the category was claimed by Yowlys Rodriguez of Cuba, who beat Rinya Nakamura of Japan.

Yazdani had come here as one of Iran's main medal hopes and, backed by a raucous contingent in the stands from his country, delivered the glory they all expected and demanded by winning the 86kg division.

The 22-year-old Islamic Solidarity Games gold medallist outgunned, outfought and outclassed Bakoev in the final.

Bakoev's silver was the first medal for Slovakia in freestyle competitions at the World Championships.

American J'Den Cox added another bronze medal to his collection, having also finished third at Rio 2016, with a comfortable victory over Mihail Ganev of Bulgaria.

Vladislav Valiev of Russia earned a bronze medal by beating Azerbaijan's Aleksandr Gostiyev, a former competitor for Russia.

In the first final of the night, Takahashi's stern defence allowed him to take command of proceedings against Gilman and he eventually eased to a 6-0 triumph.

The Asian champion, also the 2010 Summer Youth Olympic Games gold medallist, won a lot of plaudits for the way he went about his business and cemented his status as a possible star of the future.

Bronze medals in the category were won by Andri Yatsenko of the Ukraine, who beat North Korean Jong Hak-jin by technical superiority, and Mongolian Bekhbayar Erdenebat, who beat Bulgarian Vladimir Dubov.

Takahashi's success strengthened Japan's grip on top spot on the medals table.

Japan now have seven medals, including five gold, a silver and a bronze.

Turkey remain second on five, three of which are gold.

Third-placed Armenia are the only other nation to have claimed more than one gold medal.