GB Success at Cluj-Napoca European Open
This weekend saw success for GB judoka at the Cluj-Napoca European Open. A total of six medals were won across the two-day competition this weekend.
Day one of the Cluj-Napoca European Open saw six GB Judoka bringing home medals across their weight category.
Men’s -60kg judoka Joshua Giles won a silver medal on Saturday 2nd July. Giles entered the competition with a first-round bye. Gaining victory in the quarter-finals after scoring an Ippon against Rashad Yelkiyev from Azerbaijan. Giles also gained another victory in the semi-finals with a waza-ari against opponent Lin Chong-You from Chinese Taipei. The Final Block saw Giles defeated by his opponent Nazir Talibov from Azerbaijan with an Ippon in the Final Block.
GB Judoka Amy Platten won bronze in the -48kg category. Entering the competition with a first-round bye but was defeated by her opponent in the quarter-final. Raamila Aliheva from Azerbaijan scored an ippon against Platten in the quarter-finals. Platten saw victory in the repechage, with an Ippon score against Romanian fighter Giorgia Hagianu. Securing the bronze medal position, Platten defeated Morand Priscilla from Mauritius.
Day one success continued for GB judoka Sian Bobrowska with success in the quarter-finals with an ippon against Almelaiki Hessah from Saudi Arabia. The semi-finals saw Australian judoka Tinka Easton defeating Bobrowska with an ippon. Bobrowska went on to gain success in the final round of the repechage. Bobrowska won her bronze medal after defeating her opponent Alexanra Pasca from Romania with an ippon.
Continuing with the success on day one, GB Men -73kg Judoka Eric Ham entered the competition with an opening first-round bye. Ham defeated Israel’s Sahar Sagiv in with an Ippon score to see him through to the quarter-finals. Ham’s ippon against Azerbaijan Nurlan Osmanov saw a quarter-final victory. Ham was defeated with an ippon score in the semi-final against Germany judoka Alexander Bernd Gabler. Victory came for Ham in the repechage with an ippon score against Oron Giner from Israel, securing Ham the bronze medal.
Jemima Yeats-Brown and Sarah Hawkes continued the GB success in day two of the Cluj-Napoca European Open. Gold medal winner Yeats-Brown defeated all her opponents in each round of the -70kg category securing a 1st place position. Entering the competition with a first-round bye, Yeats-Brown defeated Azerbaijan Gunel Hasanli with an ippon score in the quarter-finals, allowing Yeats-Brown to secure her place in the semi-finals. Yeats-Brown went on to defeat Netherlands Donja Vos with an Ippon in the semi-final, seeing her gaining a place in the final. The final round saw another win by Yeats-Brown with an ippon against Croatia’s Andela Violic.
The second victory of day two came from +78kg women GB judoka Sarah Hawkes as she wins bronze on Sunday 3rd July. Victory came in the quarter-final round where Hawkes beat her opponent, Australian Abigail Paduch, with an Ippon to secure her place in the semi-final. However, Hawkes was defeated by Chinese Taipei Wen Jia Tsai with an ippon score in the semi-finals. Victory came in the repechage as Hawkes opponent, Tahani Alqahtani from Saudi Arabia, received a Hansoku-make to see Hawkes win the bronze medal.
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