Israeli Judo Star Wins European U21 Bronze in Montenegro

Israeli judoka Hai-Li Zakroyiski secured a bronze medal on the first day of the European U21 Championships held in Podgorica, Montenegro. Competing in the under 57kg category, Zakroyiski began her campaign with a series of victories, including wins by ippon against Belgium's Lynn Martens and Poland's Emilia Bialas, and a yuko win over Romania's Vanesa Tolea. Her winning streak was halted in the semifinals by Slovenia's Tina Tomšič, who defeated her by ippon. Following this loss, Zakroyiski entered the bronze medal match, where she faced her Israeli teammate Gil Peretz in a domestic derby. Zakroyiski ultimately won the bronze medal by scoring two waza-ari that were upgraded to ippon, while Peretz finished in fifth place.

Gil Peretz, also in the under 57kg category, had an earlier loss in the first round to Alice Bellandi of Italy, sending her to the repechage. There, she secured wins by waza-ari against the Netherlands' Aya Veenendal Ovid and the Czech Republic's Marketa Korcakova, and an ippon victory over Spain's Odailys Santiago Santana to reach the bronze medal match. However, she was defeated by Zakroyiski.

In the under 60kg category, Ben Tamari reached the repechage after losing in the quarterfinals to Belarus's Haraiyori Tsurntsan. He won his repechage match against Italy's Francesco Curciani but ultimately lost the bronze medal match to Georgia's Luka Omezadze, also finishing in fifth place. Liivi Boker finished in seventh place.

Head coach Shani Hershko praised Zakroyiski's achievement, calling it a prestigious bronze medal following an excellent competition and a high-quality day of fighting. He noted this is her second consecutive medal at the European Junior Championships, highlighting her consistency and progress. Hershko also acknowledged the two fifth-place finishes and the seventh-place finish, emphasizing the continued success of the young generation and the effectiveness of the team's training program in building a strong future for Israeli judo.