Bright Maddaloni Nosa finished fifth in the -81 kg category at the Zagreb Judo Grand Prix on Saturday, securing the top placement for the Italian team at Arena Zagreb.
The Italian judoka opened his tournament in Croatia with a decisive victory over Israel’s Itay Bibitko, executing an ippon via a Seoi-nage hold just 10 seconds into the match, OA Sport reported.
In the following round, Maddaloni Nosa edged out Brazil’s David Lima during the Golden Score period, securing a yuko score through a Seoi-otoshi throw at 4 minutes and 58 seconds.
Maddaloni Nosa continued his run by defeating Britain’s Rory Tyrrel in the round of 16. He then advanced past Slovenia’s Igor Tsurkan in the quarterfinals.
Against Tsurkan, the Italian competitor overcame an early yuko disadvantage to claim victory with an ippon at 2 minutes and 57 seconds.
The semifinal brought a halt to his tournament run when Canada’s François Gauthier Drapeau secured a waza-ari victory after 1 minute and 55 seconds.
Relegated to the repechage, Maddaloni Nosa faced another Canadian competitor, Oliver Gagnon, in the contest for the bronze medal. Gagnon won the bout, leaving the Italian judoka in fifth place in a weight class ultimately won by Drapeau.
In the women’s -63 kg division, Flavia Favorini and Savita Russo exited the tournament early. Favorini fell to Hungary’s Brigitta Varga, who clinched a victory via yuko in the Golden Score period using a Sumi-otoshi technique.
Russo started her campaign with an extra-time win over Canada’s Laurence Biron, scoring a yuko with a Ko-uchi-gari.
Her run ended in the next round against Croatia’s Nina Simic, who recorded a yuko at 2 minutes and 7 seconds with a De-ashi-harai, followed by an ippon at 3 minutes and 20 seconds using Yoko-shiho-gatame. Canada’s Jessica Klimkait won the -63 kg division by defeating Slovenia’s Kaja Kajzer Zabkar in the final.
The -70 kg category brought similar results for the Italian team, with both competitors exiting by the second round. Sara Corbo defeated Slovakia’s Ema Fizelova in her opening bout before losing to Brazil’s Nauana Silva, who secured a yuko via O-soto-otoshi at 3 minutes and 38 seconds.
Nadia Simeoli also exited in the second round, falling to the Netherlands’ Sanne van Dijke, who scored a yuko with a Ko-soto-gari after 1 minute and 10 seconds.
