2024-04-25 18:17:15
Tamar Malka and Timna Nelson Levy won bronze medals this evening (Thursday) at the European Judo Championships, which started today in Zagreb. Malka scored a victory in Ipon against Togce Bader from Turkey. Nelson-Levy defeated Pauline Stark of Germany in the bronze medal match.
The 23-year-old Malka (up to 48 kg) defeated Sila Harsin, also from Turkey, in her first fight today. Then she also defeated an opponent from Spain and in the third round she passed a Portuguese opponent (who accumulated three penalties) – and qualified for the semi-finals. In the big four, the Israeli lost to her rival from Russia on the Ipon within ten seconds, and from there she was relegated to the battle for the bronze.
Tamar Malka (right) in the semi-final fight at the Tel Aviv Grand Slam (archive photo: Oded Karni, courtesy of the Israel Judo Association)
In the battle for the medal, she met Tugce Bader from Turkey. Bader got a Vasari relatively early, and looked to be on his way to victory, but Malka got a Vasari of her own 8 seconds to go, sending the fight to a gold score. One minute and 40 seconds into the gold scoring, Malka Epon scored, giving Israel its first medal in the championship. This is the highest achievement in Malka’s career and the third medal she has won on the world tour, after silver in the Tel Aviv Grand Slam and bronze in the Olan Grand Slam in Tour.
The 29-year-old Nelson-Levy (up to 57 kg), the European champion for 2022, began the competition in the second round and won on the floor against an opponent from Poland.
She was relegated to the consolation bracket after losing in Vasari in the golden score to Ukrainian Daria Bildodit (two-time world champion) in the quarterfinals, after not taking advantage of two penalties. A victory in the consolation bracket over a German opponent guaranteed the Israeli a place in the battle for bronze.
Timna Nelson Levy at the European Championships in Kosovo (archive photo: European Judo Association)
In the battle for the bronze she defeated Pauline Stark from Germany after Vasari came two and a half minutes inside the gold score, and six and a half minutes from the start of the fight. In doing so, she picked up a third medal at the European Championships after also winning bronze in 2016.
Shira Rini (48 kg) and Geffen Primo (52 kg) were eliminated in the second round. Rhani defeated an opponent from Portugal in her first fight in 37 seconds, but then lost to an opponent from Italy and ended her journey. Primo automatically qualified for the second round, but was defeated there by an Azeri opponent.
For the men, Baruch Shamailov (up to 66 kg), who returned last March from an eight-month suspension, qualified for the quarter-finals, but withdrew due to injury – as well as from the performance at Beit HaNichiumim. He opened the competition with a victory in Vasari over a British opponent and then won On a German judoka, but his leg was injured and, as mentioned, he did not go to the next fight. In the same weight, Tal Flicker beat a competitor from Estonia, but then lost to a Ukrainian judoka and was eliminated from the competition.
Ariel Shulman (up to 60 kg) lost by Ipon in the second round to an opponent from Belgium, when he was tied to the mat seconds before the end of the fight. Earlier, he won his first fight against a judoka from the Netherlands, after obtaining Vasari and then adding Ipon.
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