Sports Club RRI – Judo
At the European Judo Championships, which have just came to an end in Kazan, Russia, Romania performed better than expected.
Florin Orban, 28.04.2016, 14:01
At the European Judo Championships, which have just came to an end in Kazan, Russia, Romania performed better than expected. The head of the Romanian Judo Federation, Florin Lascau, had previously told the media that the Romanian team’s aim was to win two medals, but that he wouldn’t be surprised to see the Romanian athletes come home with three medals instead. And he was right, they did win three medals in the continental competition. Although all three were bronze, this performance enabled Romania to keep its place among the continent’s best nations in this sport.
The first prizewinner was Monica Ungureanu, in the 48 kilo category. She defeated Italy’s Valentina Moscatt in the match for the third place, and thus won her first medal in a major competition.
Andreea Chitu was the next to go up the podium. In the match for the bronze of the 52 kilo category, she outdid the Swiss Evelyne Tschopp. Chitu was the defending European champion in this category, having won the gold in Baku last year. Her track record also includes two silver medals in the latest editions of the World Championships. Daniel Natea, in the 100+ kilo category was the one to bring the third bronze medal to the Romanian team. In his last fight, he defeated Aleksandr Gordienko of Ukraine.
Their performance in Kazan won the three Romanian athletes important points in the world standings, and as such weighs substantially in their qualification to the Olympic Games in Rio. Also worth noting is that, although Corina Caprioriu, in the 57 kilo category, lost the continental competition, she has secured her ticket for the Rio Olympics, thanks to her second place in the world standings ahead of the European Championships.
