“I’m happy to have been able to do it in front of the Israeli crowd, which is the best in the world,” Baruch Shmailov says.
Israeli judoka Baruch Shmailov defeated French contestant Daikii Bouba in the finals of the tournament on Tuesday.
The Israeli team’s most significant accomplishment on the first day of the tournament was Shmailov’s victory.
I always arrive at the Masters tournament prepared.
In an interview with the Ynet news site, Shmailov stated, “This is my fourth medal and my first Israeli gold medal.”
I’m glad I was able to perform it in front of the world’s finest Israeli audience.
I made good use of the strength they gave me, he said.
After the Olympics and the World Judo Championships, the Judo Masters tournament is the third most important judo competition.
The tournament is seen as a significant step toward qualifying for the Paris Olympics in 2024.
Over 400 athletes from all over the world have competed in Israel over the course of three days at the Pais Arena in the capital.
Shmailov, who is 28 years old and trains in the 66-kg weight class, finished fifth in his class at the Olympics in Tokyo the year before.
He took home a silver medal at the Judo Masters competition in Guangzhou, China, in 2018.
Israeli judoka Gefen Primo verged on winning a bronze decoration Tuesday yet was crushed by Italian judoka Odette Giuffrida.
Judokas Timna Nelson Toll, Shira Rishony and Tal Glint were dispensed with in the previous phases of the opposition.
In Jerusalem, BARUCH SHMAILOV GAVE ISRAELI FANS GOLD
Israel is, without a doubt, a judo country. At the IJF Masters in Jerusalem, Israeli fighter Baruch Shmailov impressed the judges with a flawless performance.
Shmailov won his pool, and young Bouba surprised everyone by defeating Sardor Nurillaev in the semis and Baskhuu Yondonperenlei in the final.
Denis Vieru, the world champion, was defeated by Shmailov.
Shirine Boukli, a lightweight from France, won the U48kg championship.
She defeated Japanese talent Wakana Koga in the final. It is the first time a French judoka has won the Masters U48kg gold, as Japan has done six times.
Krasniqi has done three times on her own, and Munkhbat of Mongolia did it in 2015.
Distria Krasniqi beat British world runner-up Chelsie Giles to win the gold medal for Kosovo.
It was Krasniqi’s fourth masters victory and her first in the U52kg division.
Giles prevailed over Krasniqi in the semi-final of the World Championships this year.
The Koreans stay solid in the men’s lightweight class where Lee Ha-Edge won the gold.
He succeeded Kim Won-Jin, who won in Doha in 2021.
With her victory at the masters, Christa Deguchi appears to be back in control.
She defeated Sarah-Leonie Cysique in the women’s U57kg final.