On the first day of the Judo Grand Prix in Zagreb, the judoka from Brazil were particularly convincing. They won gold twice.
Zagreb, the capital of Croatia, offers historical, contemporary and top-class sport. This weekend, Zagreb is hosting the Judo Grand Prix.
600 children from all over Croatia took part in a training camp, Olympic champion Majlinda Kelmendi and European champion Hedvig Karakas were also there. They showed the youngsters the basics and values of judo, which are also so important for life away from the mat.
The event hall in Zagreb was well filled, the judo enthusiasts saw a victory of the Spaniard Mireia Lapuerta Comas in the weight category up to 48 kilograms. The Secretary General of the World Judo Federation, Lisa Allen, handed out the medals.
“This is great. I didn’t expect this. There were so many people in the stands. It was really good. When I was young, I dreamed of this. And now I’m here. It’s like a dream, I’m so happy,” said Lapuerta Comas.
Ukrainian Dilshot Khalmatov took gold in the men’s up to 60 kilograms in Zagreb. He came out on top over Ahmad Yusifov of Azerbaijan in a final dominated by tactics. Antonio Castro, ambassador of the World Judo Federation, performed the award ceremony.
Two wins for Brazil
In the women’s up to 52 kilograms, Brazil’s Jessica Pereira had a brilliant day – a golden one, to be precise. She received the well-deserved reward from Carlo Knoester, responsible for referee supervision at the World Federation.
And another gold for the Brazilian Judo Federation: Willian Lima was unbeatable in the weight category up to 66 kilograms. In the final against Sardor Nurillayev from Uzbekistan, two penalty scores for his opponent were enough to give Lima an advantage. The Grand Prix winner was awarded the gold medal by referee director Armen Baghdasarov.
Zagreb was incredible, Lima marvelled. On the spot he had won his first gold medal in the European Cup and now the second, he said. “The people here give you great memories – for the second time. I am very happy here in Zagreb,” said the winner.
Perišić takes victory in the women’s 57 kg category
Marica Perišić from Serbia also took home gold from Zagreb. She won in the weight category up to 57 kilograms. She has already won the Grand Slam in Tbilisi this year. The referee director of the World Federation, Florin Daniel Lascau, was responsible for the award ceremony.
So much for the action on the first day of competition in Zagreb. More medals will be awarded this Saturday.