At the second day of the Judo Master's competition in Hungary, Kosovo, Netherlands, and Belgium all took home a well-deserved gold medal.
In Budapest, Hungary, thousands of spectators flocked to the Papp László Arena to watch their heroes compete in the second day of the Judo Masters competition.
ADVERTISEMENTFans eagerly awaited the opening ceremony that included opening speeches from IJF President Mr. Marius Vizer, Minister of the Prime-Minister's office Mr Gergely Gulyás and IJF Vice President Dr. László Tóth, who was also awarded the IJF 8th Dan.
At -63kg, Laura Fazliu flew through her day, with her impressive judo taking her all the way to a second Masters final.
Once again, she faced four-time Masters Champion Takaichi from Japan, but this time she dominated the fight and took gold, keeping the momentum strong for team Kosovo.
The Minister of the Prime-Minister’s Office of Hungary Mr Gergely Gulyás awarded the medals.
"I’m feeling very happy, this medal is a special one. More so than others in my collection. This motivates me for future competitions, I’m so happy," said Fazliu.
At -73kg, former World Champion Hashimoto Soichi was in great form and made his way into yet another Masters final. His opponent was Tajikistan's Behruzi Khojazoda.
Hashimoto put up a tough fight with a close score, and ultimately took a tactical victory and an impressive fourth Masters gold.
Awarding the medals was IJF Special Guest Sheikh Dr Talal AL-Fahad Al-Sabah.
At -70kg, Netherlands Sanne Van Dijke faced Elisavet Teltsidou of Greece. Two big throwers.
In the final, Teltsidou almost managed to score, but the Masters title went to Van Dijke after a tactical penalty.
MET Group CEO and Chairman Mr Benjamin Lakatos awarded the medals.
ADVERTISEMENTAt -81kg, 2021 World Champion Matthias Casse sailed through his preliminaries into the final while looking on peak form all day
In the final he scored an early waza-ari to take his second Masters title.
IJF Ambassador & IOC Honorary Member H.E. Schmitt Pal awarded the medals.
"Budapest is a sports capital almost, a lot of competitions from a lot of sports are also being held here. I’m usually fighting good here, I won my World title here, I've won the Masters now so I would like to come back," said Casse.
Stay tuned for more coverage of the Judo Masters in Budapest tomorrow.