Israel ends Mongolia Grand Slam with one bronze as Hershko exits in the quarterfinals

Israel finished the Mongolia Judo Grand Slam on Sunday with one medal, a bronze by Yitzhak Ashpiz in the under-60 kg category. The tournament also marked the opening of the Olympic qualification period for the Los Angeles 2028 Games.

On the final day, the heavyweight divisions competed. Raz Hershko, in the over-78 kg class, was disqualified in the quarterfinals after performing a dangerous hold against her Japanese opponent. The article says the Japanese judoka’s arm was pointing upward while caught in Hershko’s grip, with the elbow toward the mat, creating a lock that risked breaking the arm. Hershko was penalized and eliminated for the move.

In the same weight class, Yuli Alma Mishiner lost her quarterfinal to Croatia’s Vukovic after receiving three penalties, then was beaten by ippon in the first repechage round. In the men’s brackets, Yosef Simin, under 100 kg, lost in the round of 16 to a Kazakh opponent who scored twice with waza-ari, while Raam Friedman Zilberstein, under 90 kg, fell in his opening match to France’s Matteo, who also had two waza-ari scores.

Roy Sivan, also under 90 kg, beat a local opponent in his first bout but then lost by ippon to a French judoka. Yehonatan Albaz, under 73 kg, lost his opening match to a Canadian opponent by ippon. In the women’s under-70 kg category, Maya Ghoshen lost her quarterfinal to a German opponent by ippon and then lost again in repechage to the Netherlands’ Van Dijk. Adalina Novitski, in the same class, lost in the round of 16 to a Croatian opponent after golden score, where Ghoshen received her second and third penalties and ended her run. Kerem Primo, under 63 kg, lost her first match to France’s Dektar by yuko.