Israeli Teen Yitzhak Azrapov Wins Gold at Budapest Grand Slam

Eighteen-year-old Israeli judoka Yitzhak Azrapov secured a significant gold medal victory at the Budapest Grand Slam on Friday, marking his first career gold in an international competition. The win, achieved via an "ippon" (full point) against France's Enzo Jean just seconds before the end of the match, serves as a major boost ahead of the World Championships in Baku in three weeks.

Azrapov, competing in the under-60kg category, demonstrated a strong performance throughout the tournament. He began with a rapid 13-second ippon against Uzbekistan's Roziev, followed by another ippon victory over the Netherlands' Jaring. In the quarterfinals, he defeated Portugal's Fernandes with two "yuko" scores, and secured his place in the final by beating Artem Lesiuk of Ukraine in the semifinals.

"This is a great gift for me and for the country on the eve of Rosh Hashanah," Azrapov stated after his win. "I went through a difficult period, so to come back like this and finish with a gold medal is a very special feeling." He expressed gratitude to his head coach Shani Hershko, Golan Pollack, and the entire professional and medical staff, as well as the Judo Association and his sponsors.

Head coach Shani Hershko praised Azrapov's resilience and dedication, noting that returning from injury to win a Grand Slam gold medal speaks volumes about his character. "Yitzhak worked very hard to get back to this level, and today he received the reward for his work," Hershko said, also thanking the support staff and the Israeli Judo Association.

Other Israeli competitors also participated. Gefen Primo (under-52kg) won her first match by ippon but was later eliminated. Yonatan Wexler (under-60kg) also won his initial bout with an ippon. Ili Hayon (under-52kg), Matan Kukuliev (under-66kg), Tom Shacham (under-66kg), Inbal Shemesh (under-57kg), and Tamna Nelson Levy (under-57kg) were eliminated in earlier rounds.