Israeli judoka Inbar Lanir wrapped up the Grand Slam tournament in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia on Sunday with a well-deserved gold medal, marking the second world champion victory of her career.
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Lanir (78kg), the new world champion, came with a lot of confidence on Sunday, following her victory in the semi-finals and exhibited one of the best performances of her career, defeating the former world champion, Japanese Mami Umek.
Raz Hershko also had high hopes for this tournament, but lost in the final round (78+kg), bringing home a silver medal. She had suffered a knee injury in the match against her Japanese competitor Wakaba Tomita, and lost after receiving an ippon in the golden score. Like Lanir, Hershko won three matches in the preliminary rounds leading up to the final, but her streak stopped there.
Israel's national women's team is concluding a successful competition, tallying a total of six medals: a gold medal for Gefen Primo and Tamar Malca on Friday, a bronze medal for Gili Sharir and Maya Goshen on Saturday, and a gold medal for Inbar Lanir along with a silver medal for Raz Hershko.
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Raz Hershko and Inbar Lanir and their coach Shani Hershko
(Photo: Israel Judo Association)
After her victory, Lanir said, "I'm very happy about today's gold medal in the Mongolia Grand Slam. It's the first time I've won a gold medal in a World Tour event besides the World Championship in Qatar. I'm grateful for every opportunity to improve and overcome new challenges.״
Hershko voiced her letdown after failing to win the gold. She said, "I'm very disappointed with the loss in the final, I felt good throughout the day and even in the final match, but unfortunately, I couldn't win the gold. I'm confident that we'll find the solutions to win next time, I'm committed to continuing and making every effort to succeed and reach the highest level of readiness for the Olympic Games."