Top Judoka loses European title

After three consecutive wins, Arik Zeevi loses European championship title to Frenchman; Kordon takes Bronze

Following the disappointment of Yoel Rozbozov, who “only” took a silver medal in the European Judo Championship in the under-73 kilogram weight class, Israel suffered an even greater blow, as Arik Zeevi lost Sunday his under-100 kilogram class championship title, which he had held for two years in a row.

Frenchman Christophe Humbert is now the prize owner of the gold medal and the Judo title.

Bittersweet defeat

No doubt, Zeevi and his supporters are disappointed over the outcome, but the fact the Israeli delegation feels sad with two medals in hand shows how far our Judokas have come.

And thanks to Andrian Kordon’s bronze in 100-plus kilogram weight class, they’ve advanced even farther. His defeat of Hungarian Barna Bor is the first such Israeli victory in this weight category.

Zeevi, the Bronze medalist at the Athens Olympics, made quick work of his Polish, Belarussian, and Dutch rivals. But in the final round, Zeevi faced off against Frenchman Humbert, who proved to be too much for the exhausted Israeli.

Israeli heavyweight Andrian Kordon was beaten by European and World Champion Alexander Mikhailin, but bested a tough rival in Hungarian Barna Bor for the bronze medal.