Mission accomplished for Lasha Tsatsalashvili! The judoka climbed to the top of the podium for the very first time in his career at a junior European cup! Confident after winning bronze last week in Sarajevo, he triumphed in the under 73 kg final on Saturday in Montenegro.
Three times silver medalist and two bronze medalists in less than a year at European junior cups, Lasha Tsatsalashvili was determined to leave the city of Podgorica with a gold medal in his luggage.
“It feels good to win! After all these second places on this circuit, it’s great to finally finish first. I am really happy ! » shared the one who had an appointment with the Italian Federico Bosis in his fourth duel of the day. The 18-year-old had the last word in overtime with a strong ippon.
“I had prepared well, so I wasn’t nervous and I felt good from the start of the competition. I was motivated to win that tournament,” said the Ontarian.
He beat the Serbian Saban Diljaj and the British Thomas Jackson in his first two clashes. His third victory of the day came against Christos Dimitriadi of Cyprus in the semi-final.
Tsatsalashvili came close to being accompanied by two teammates on the podium in the under 73 kg category on Saturday.
Félix Mercier-Ross and Artem Neyolov fought in the same category, both to obtain a bronze medal. They ultimately finished the day with fifth places. Mercier-Ross lost to Darko Topalovic of Bosnia-Herzegovina and finished the competition with a record of 4 wins and 2 losses. For his part, Neyolov signed three victories and suffered two losses, including one against Dimitriadi, at the end of the day.
For his part, Victor Dessureault lost his two fights of the day in the under 60 kg category, while Daniil Kremerman was limited to one clash in the under 66 kg table.
On Sunday, Tigran Kryvytskyi (-81 kg), Faniry-Michael Andriamanana (-90 kg) and John Jr Messe A Bessong (+100 kg) will be in action in Montenegro. On the women’s side, Heidi Quach and Marie-Lune Turmel will be ones to watch in the under 48 kg, as will Evelyn Beaton with the under 52 kg.
2024-03-09 19:43:41
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