Inbal Shemesh Captures Silver Medal at Zagreb Grand Prix
Israeli judoka Inbal Shemesh won the silver medal at the Zagreb Grand Prix in the under-57 kg category on Friday. After a series of impressive wins, she finished second following a hard-fought final against Brazil's Shirlen Nascimento.
Israeli judoka Inbal Shemesh delivered an impressive performance on Friday, capturing the silver medal at the prestigious Zagreb Grand Prix.
Competing in the under-57 kg weight category, Shemesh kicked off her day with a hard-fought victory via penalties against Finland's Pihla Matikainen. She followed up with a dominant ippon win in the round of 16 against Brazil's Sara Souza, and secured a waza-ari victory over Great Britain's Acelya Toprak in the quarterfinals. In the semifinal, Shemesh triumphed with another waza-ari against Spain's Adriana Rodriguez Salvador. In the gold medal match, she was defeated by chokehold by Brazil's Shirlen Nascimento, securing a well-earned second-place finish.
Following her podium finish, Inbal Shemesh reflected on her campaign: "I am very happy to return to the podium and win an important medal at a prestigious tournament. It was a tough day of combat, filled with fighting spirit and determination. This medal is meaningful to me, giving me great confidence and motivation for the road ahead. A huge thank you to the coaching staff who accompany me, believe in me, and work with me every day, and to the Israel Judo Association for their continuous support."
Head national coach Shany Hershko praised the achievement: "Inbal Shemesh returns to the podium at a prestigious tournament after a grueling day of combat filled with fighting spirit, determination, and character, finishing with an important and significant silver medal."
Earlier in the tournament, other Israeli athletes took to the mats. Tamar Malka, competing in the under-48 kg category, was defeated by ippon by Austria's Jacqueline Springer. Ili Hayun, competing in the under-52 kg division, defeated Germany's Nicole Stakhov by waza-ari but fell by ippon to Hungary's Reka Pupp.
In the under-60 kg men's category, Ariel Shulman and Yonatan Wexler represented Israel. Shulman defeated Joshua Young of the United States by ippon before losing to Kazakhstan's Aman Bekchan. Wexler secured a waza-ari win against Bulgaria's Lyuboslav Grigorov, but was subsequently defeated by Yi-Yang Gong of Chinese Taipei.
In the under-66 kg weight class, Matan Koklayev and Adam Hazan competed. Koklayev opened with a victory over Greece's Adam Anastasopoulos, advanced with an ippon win over Great Britain's Charlie Young, but was ultimately defeated by Abderrahmane Boushita of Morocco.
