Strong performance

Judo: European Championship bronze for Shamil Borchashvili in Zagreb

Shamil Borchashvili

(Bild: AFP)

After winning Olympic and World Championship bronze, judoka Shamil Borchashvili now also has European Championship bronze in his pocket! The athlete from Wels won the fight for third place in the 81 kg category against Italy's Antonio Esposito in extra time at the title fights in Zagreb on Friday. With Borchashvili's success, the Austrian Judo Federation has already achieved its goal of at least one medal in the absence of Paris-Fix starter Michaela Polleres. 

"I am relieved and proud to have made it. The medal set is complete," said Borchashvili. "Once again, I managed to deliver on day X. It took an extraordinary performance of will today." Borchashvili, who finished third in Tokyo 2021, only had to concede defeat to Vedat Abayrak from Turkey, who later also finished third, in the quarter-finals in the Croatian capital. The title went to Tato Grigalashvili from Georgia.

Esposito a tough nut to crack
In the bronze medal fight, Borchashvili inflicted a cut above his opponent's eye early on. This was followed by a dominant performance from the Austrian, in which Esposito proved to be a tough nut to crack. It was only in the golden score that a successful holding technique (Osaekomi-waza) brought victory.

With the European Championships as a starting signal, the judoka will experience an enormously dense program of major events. The World Championships will follow in Abu Dhabi from May 19 to 24, followed by the Olympic Games in Paris.