Israeli Judoka Karem Polles to Compete for Bronze at Budapest Grand Slam

On the second day of the Budapest Grand Slam judo competition, six Israeli athletes competed. Karem Polles, competing in the under-63 kg category, will vie for the bronze medal against Kosovo's Distria Krasniqi. Polles began her day with an ippon victory over South Africa's Van Der Merwe, followed by a win against the Czech Republic's Věra Zoubková in golden score after both judokas received penalties. In the quarterfinals, Polles lost to Slovenia's Andreja Leški, who secured a yuko to advance. Polles then moved to the repechage, where she defeated Poland's Natalia Krukowska to qualify for the bronze medal match.

Other Israeli competitors included Ohad Maimon (under-73 kg), who reached the quarterfinals before losing to Azerbaijan's Hidayat Heydarov. Maimon had previously defeated Hungary's Gombas by withdrawal, Portugal's Joao Costa with two yukos, and Brazil's Guilherme Schimidt by ippon in golden score. In the repechage, Maimon was defeated by Turkey's Bilal Çiloğlu.

Itai Bitankov (under-81 kg) lost in golden score to the Czech Republic's Petr Mladý in his first match. Yonatan Albaz (under-73 kg) was defeated by Sweden's Tommy Macias, and Maya Goshn (under-70 kg) lost to Germany's Giovanna Scoccimarro in the final seconds. Adeline Noyce (under-70 kg) was also eliminated in her first bout by Mongolia's Gankhaich Bold. The previous day, Yizhak Azrieli won a gold medal in the under-60 kg category.