There was no early Christmas present for Lisa Grabner and Lukas Reiter. At the open European Championship in Kosovo’s capital Pristina, the two JC Wimpassing fighters were eliminated early.
For Reiter, the tournament, which was endowed with 150,000 euros in the weight class up to 73 kilograms, was the first time he competed after tearing his pectoral muscle. The 28-year-old was last on the mat at the European Games in Poland at the beginning of July. The military world champion was qualified for the European Championships in Montpellier, but was not allowed to fight because of the maximum rule (nine starters per gender). At the end of the year in Kosovo, Reiter won at the start against the Frenchman Guillaume Chaine after he was disqualified in extra time after the third warning.
In the second round, the former European champion and local hero Akil Gjakova was eliminated. This time the ÖJV fighter was caught with the third Shido in extra time. “Luki was clearly the more active fighter in the Golden Score. I don’t agree with his defeat at all. But Lukas’ performance was worth seeing,” praises coach Adi Zeltner.
Rider has the form of life
His protégé was visibly angry: “I missed a very good opportunity. I had more air and was stronger. The last penalty was more than questionable,” but the performance shown is confirmation of my own feeling: “I am currently in the form of my life, stronger than ever before. I dare to say that,” Reiter wants to attack in 2024.
Teammate Lisa Grabner, who lost in the first round in the class up to 57 kilograms in Pristina, has similar plans. Timna Nelson-Levy of Israel ended the fight with a chokehold after a minute and a half — ippon. “I need more fights like this against absolute world-class opponents. “I held my own quite well for the first minute, then it became more and more difficult,” says the 22-year-old.
2023-12-16 15:36:36
#Judo #Wimpassing #judokas #Reiter #Grabner #fought #Europes #top
