Israel Secures First Wins at World Judo Championships in Baku

After Yitzhak Ashpiz and Gefen Primo were knocked out in the opening days of the World Judo Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan, Israeli athletes secured their first victories in the tournament.

Timna Nelson-Levy (Women, under 57 kg)

Ranked fourth in the world, Nelson-Levy received a bye to the second round, where she faced Finland's Pihla Salonen. She secured two yuko scores and advanced to the third round despite her opponent scoring late in the match.

Yehonatan Elbaz (Men, under 73 kg)

Ranked 50th globally, Elbaz entered the competition with modest expectations. After receiving a bye to the second round, he pulled off an upset by defeating Bulgaria's Viktor Skarlatov, who is ranked 29 spots higher in the world rankings.

Ohad Moritz (Men, under 73 kg)

Twenty-one-year-old Moritz fell to Brazil's Guilherme de Oliveira in the opening round and was eliminated from the tournament.

Inbal Shemesh (Women, under 57 kg)

Shemesh exited the competition in the first round following a defeat against Finland's Pihla Matikainen.

Upcoming Israeli Competitors

The schedule for the remaining Israeli delegation includes Kerem Primo (under 63 kg) on Wednesday; Maya Goshen (under 70 kg) and Roy Sivan (under 90 kg) on Thursday; Yosif Simin (under 100 kg) on Friday; and Raz Hershko (over 78 kg) on Saturday.

Prize Money Breakdown

The World Championships feature a total prize pool of 798,000 euros for individual categories and an additional 200,000 euros for the team competition. In individual events, a gold medal awards 20,800 euros to the judoka and 5,200 euros to the coach, silver offers 12,000 euros to the athlete and 3,000 to the coach, and bronze grants 6,400 euros to the competitor alongside 1,600 euros for the coach. In the mixed team event, gold medalists share 72,000 euros while their coaches split 18,000 euros.