Israeli Teenager Yitzhak Azaniashvili Wins Gold at Budapest Grand Slam

Eighteen-year-old Israeli judoka Yitzhak Azaniashvili secured his first career gold medal at the Budapest Grand Slam on Friday, a significant achievement in the final preparation event for the upcoming World Championships in Baku. Azaniashvili, competing in the under-60 kg category, defeated Enzo Jean of France in a tense final match. Despite a clear advantage from the outset, the bout remained undecided until Azaniashvili executed an "ippon" (a decisive throw) seconds before the five-minute limit expired.

Azaniashvili's path to the final included victories over opponents from Uzbekistan, the Netherlands, and Portugal. He defeated Roziev of Uzbekistan with a quick ippon within 13 seconds, followed by another ippon against his Dutch opponent. In the quarterfinals, he secured a win with two "yuko" scores against Fernandes of Portugal, and in the semifinals, he bested Artem Lesiuk of Ukraine to guarantee a medal.

Following his victory, Azaniashvili expressed his joy, calling the gold medal a "great gift" for himself and Israel ahead of Rosh Hashanah. He spoke of overcoming a difficult period and the special feeling of returning to competition with a win. He thanked his head coach Shani Hershko, Golan Pollack, the entire professional and medical staff, the Judo Association, and his sponsors for their support.

Head coach Shani Hershko praised Azaniashvili's significant achievement, highlighting his character, resilience, discipline, and commitment, especially in returning from injury to win gold. Hershko also extended thanks to the support staff and the Israeli Judo Association for enabling the team to strive for top international levels. The tournament also saw other Israeli judokas compete, including Gaffen Primo, Yonatan Wexler, Eli Hayon, Matan Koklaev, Tom Shmakhov, Inbal Shemesh, and Tammam Nelson Levy, with varying results.