Lucy Renshall is determined to stage the perfect comeback. At the European Open in Sarajevo, the British is planning to celebrate her comeback with a gold medal. The British Olympian, who suffered a disappointing first-round exit at the Paris Games despite holding the world number one ranking for much of her career in the -63kg category, is back in action after a challenging spell filled with setbacks. Yet she remains one of the most decorated and experienced judoka in the field this weekend.
On Saturday, Renshall began her campaign strongly, facing Italy’s Nadia Simeoli in a tough opening contest. It was a gruelling bout that stretched into golden score, where Renshall finally secured victory with a powerful ippon. In the semi-final, she overcame Slovenia’s Leila Mazouzi with a decisive wazari in the final minute, booking her place in the final. There she will meet France’s Gaetane Deberdt, who impressed earlier in the day with her victory over Dutch judoka Kamile Nalbat in the semi-finals. Deberdt arrives in fine form, having already claimed gold this year at the European Open in Benidorm.
In the -70kg category, home favourite Aleksandra Samardzic will have the crowd firmly behind her as she chases a second European Open title in Sarajevo. The defending champion will face Germany’s Sarah Mehlau in the final after Mehlau edged past Emilie Sook of Denmark in a tight semi-final contest.
The -78kg division also promises an exciting final. Croatia’s number one seed Petrunjela Pavic, the defending champion in Sarajevo, will take on Daria Rechkalova (IJF), who pulled off one of the surprises of the day by defeating France’s Ilana Bouvier with clear numbers in a tough semi-final battle.
In the women’s heavyweight division, Tina Radic of Croatia and France’s Dounia Nacer earned their spots in the final after strong performances throughout the day.
In the men’s -60kg category, Hungary’s David Naji, who took silver last year, will have another chance to go for gold as he faces Serbia’s Aleksa Nikolic. Nikolic advanced after a hard-fought semi-final against his compatriot Andjelovic, setting up a thrilling Balkan showdown.
Britain’s Michael Fryer, the top seed in the -66kg division, lived up to expectations by advancing to the final. He overcame Belgium’s Robbe Demets in the semi-final and will now meet France’s Driss Masson Jbilou, who secured his place with victory over Hungary’s Bence Mathe.
The -73kg category proved to be the most competitive of the day, featuring 21 athletes and several surprises. The biggest shock came early when top seed Joshua Green of Ireland was eliminated in his opening bout by Serbia’s Mateja Stosic. Stosic continued his impressive run, advancing all the way to the final, where he will meet Jano Ruebo of Germany, who defeated compatriot Alexander Gabler in the semi-final.
Follow the final block from 14:00h this afternoon via judoTV.com
Judoka
Author: Hans Van Essen