European judoka secure five gold medals on final day of Zagreb Grand Prix

 European Judoka stole the show on the final day of the Judo Grand Prix in Zagreb, Croatia.

Two Dutch champions, Jur Spijkers and Michael Korrel, were victorious in the over 100kg and under 100kg events, which sent the Netherlands to the top of the leaderboard. 

Korrel defeated world class opposition on his way to the final, including the current world champion from Spain, Nikoloz Sherazadishvili.

In the final he met the explosive 21-year-old Ilia Sulamanidze, who he lost to in their last meeting. But Korrel didn’t make the same mistake twice. 

A lightning fast bit of footwork got the decisive waza-ari on the Georgian, and evened the score between the two incredible Judoka

He was awarded his medal by Skander Hachicha, Sports Director of the International Judo Federation.

At over 100kg, the current european champion Jur Spijkers took on Mongolia’s Odkhuu. A fast dropping technique earned a second gold medal for the Netherlands on the final day in Zagreb.

Yasuhiro Yamashita, IJF Executive Committee Member and International Olympic Commitiee Member, awarded the medals.

Georgia’s Beka Gviniashvili also came out on top in the final defeating Rafael Macedo from Brazil in the under 90kg category.

He scored two strong waza-ari scores, culminating in an ippon knockout blow. The powerhouse Georgian claimed his 26th IJF World Tour medal.

Dr Laszlo Toth, Vice President of the International Judo Federation and President of the European Judo Federation, was on hand to award the medals.

At under 78kg, the UK's Natalie Powell took on the number one seed Inbal Lanir from Israel in the final. 

A fantastic piece of progressive ne-waza saw the determined Powell latch onto a strangle and apply increasing pressure until Lanir was forced to submit.

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