Israeli Judoka Gefen Primo Wins Bronze at Abu Dhabi Grand Slam

Israeli judoka Gefen Primo secured a bronze medal in the under-52kg category at the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam on Thursday. Primo expressed her satisfaction with returning to the podium, especially after a disappointing performance at the World Championships. "This medal is very important to me and gives me confidence for the future," she stated.

Primo's path to the medal included an impressive victory over Uzbekistan's Diyora Keldiorova, the reigning Olympic champion, in the second round. She then defeated Italy's Kenia Ferra in the quarterfinals. However, a loss to Croatia's Tijana Topolovac in the semifinals sent her to the bronze medal match, where she achieved an ippon victory against Tereza Bodnarova of the Czech Republic.

Shani Hershko, the head coach of the Israeli national team, congratulated Primo on her achievement, praising her "excellent competition day, quality and attractive judo." He thanked the professional staff, the Judo Association, and its chairman for their support.

In the men's competition, Yitzhak Aspiz (under-60kg) finished in fifth place. Aspiz won his opening match by ippon against Italy's Andrea Carlino but lost in the quarterfinals to Luic Koudbinov of Tajikistan. He advanced to the bronze medal match from the repechage round after defeating Charlie Aye of Great Britain, but ultimately lost to Kamoliddin Bakhtiyorov of Uzbekistan.