Israeli Teen Yitzhak Azrapov Wins Gold at Budapest Grand Slam

Eighteen-year-old Israeli judoka Yitzhak Azrapov secured a significant victory, winning the gold medal at the Budapest Grand Slam on Friday. This triumph marks Azrapov's first career gold medal and serves as a crucial preparation event for the upcoming World Championships in Baku in three weeks. Azrapov, competing in the under-60kg category, defeated Enzo Jean of France in the final with an impressive ippon, just moments before the match concluded.

Azrapov's path to the final included a swift ippon victory over Roziev of Uzbekistan in just 13 seconds, followed by another ippon win against Dutch opponent Yaring. He then advanced past Fernandes of Portugal in the quarterfinals with two yukos, and secured a medal by defeating Artem Lesiuk of Ukraine in the semifinals.

Following his win, Azrapov expressed his joy and pride in bringing the gold medal to Israel, calling it a great gift for the country ahead of the Rosh Hashanah holiday. He acknowledged overcoming a difficult period and 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 lauded Azrapov's achievement, highlighting his character, resilience, discipline, and commitment, especially in returning from an injury to win the Grand Slam. Hershko also thanked the accompanying staff, the Israeli Judo Association, and its leadership for their support.

Other Israeli judokas competed on the first day of the Grand Slam. Gefen Primo (under-52kg) won her first match by ippon but was later eliminated. Yonathan Wexler (under-60kg) also won his initial bout with an ippon. Ili Hayon (under-52kg), Matan Kukuliev (under-66kg), Tom Shmelev (under-66kg), Inbal Shemesh (under-57kg), and Tzmarna Nelson Levy (under-57kg) all faced defeats in their respective categories.