Ronald Pröll of UJZ Mühlviertel claimed the bronze medal at the U23 European Judo Championships, delivering a standout performance for the Upper Austrian delegation at the continental tournament. While Pröll secured his spot on the podium after a resilient run through the repechage, teammate Issa Naschcho of LZ Multikraft Wels narrowly missed a medal, finishing in fifth place after a hard-fought contest.
Pröll Fights Back for Bronze After Pool Final Defeat
Pröll opened his tournament campaign with a victory in the preliminary rounds before facing top-seeded Moldovan competitor Ghimbovschi in the pool final. After falling behind by a yuko, Pröll turned the match around using a precise counter-technique to secure the win. In the semifinals, he encountered eventual champion Baghirov of Azerbaijan, dropping that bout by ippon. Relegated to the bronze-medal match, Pröll once again conceded an early yuko to his Romanian opponent. Just before the final bell, he executed a decisive ippon counter to lock up the bronze medal. The result adds to his previous continental success, following a bronze medal won at the U18 European Championships in Poreč, Croatia, in 2022.
🇦🇿🥇🥇🥋 Azerbaijani judokas Ajdar Baghirov and Kanan Nasibov have won gold medals at the European U-23 Judo Championships in Naples, Italy.According to Report, Ajdar Baghirov, competing in the under-100 kg weight category, defeated Germany's Jannis Batzhin in the final to… pic.twitter.com/iWmteAUfvq
Naschcho Settles for Fifth After Tight Semifinal and Medal Bouts
Naschcho carved a similar path to the medal rounds, advancing smoothly to the semifinals. He lost that bout by a narrow yuko margin, dropping him into the bronze-medal contest. Against Czech judoka Marousek, another tight yuko score late in the match decided the outcome against the Wels fighter. The narrow defeat left Naschcho in fifth place. Among the other Upper Austrian entrants, Carina Klaus-Sternwieser of ASKÖ Reichraming and Firas Ben Saad of LZ Multikraft Wels exited the tournament following their opening-round matches.
Mixed Team Competition Awaits Austrian Squad
The Austrian team returns to the tatami for the mixed team competition, where they face Ukraine in their opening fixture. Results, tournament lists, and official imagery from the European Judo Union are available through the official portal.
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