Speyer / Rhine-Neckar metropolitan region.
The men from JSV Speyer defended their lead in the 1st Judo Bundesliga South with a clear 11:3 win at TV Erlangen. The JSV had actually expected a close fight, but it turned out that the hosts were not at their best, and it was therefore quickly clear that all the advantages were on the side of the Speyer team. Accordingly, the first round was decided after only 20 minutes with 5:2 for Speyer.
Philipp Müller, Yves Touna, Irakli Kupatadze, Onise Bughadze and David Riedl all won with ippon well before the end of the fight period. Only Patrick Schmidt and Til Braunbach had to give up their fights. But those were the only fights that Speyer lost that day, except for one point without a fight in the unoccupied weight class up to 66 kilograms, all points went to Speyer in the second round. Müller, Touna, Kupatadze and Bughadze scored a second time, and substitutes Franz Haettich and Andreas Benkert also won easily.
“Our plan worked out perfectly, everyone we backed won. We are now full of energy for the upcoming fight at KSV Esslingen and are happy to be able to compete there as leaders. Of course, we’re still clear outsiders, but that’s a role that we’ve always liked,” says team boss Michael Görgen-Sprau. Esslingen meanwhile experienced an unpleasant surprise on Saturday and lost 6:8 at JC Leipzig.
Text: Seán McGinley
