Raz Hershko captures blue-and-white’s 2nd gold, Yuli Mishiner earns bronze among 4-medal haul. The Israeli judo delegation wrapped up a successful Grand Prix in Lima, Peru, with four total medals — including two golds — as Raz Hershko captured the top prize in the over-78 kg category and Yuli Mishiner claimed bronze in the same division.
Raz Hershko captures blue-and-white’s 2nd gold, Yuli Mishiner earns bronze among 4-medal haul.
The Israeli judo delegation wrapped up a successful Grand Prix in Lima, Peru, with four total medals — including two golds — as Raz Hershko captured the top prize in the over-78 kg category and Yuli Mishiner claimed bronze in the same division.
On the opening day of the tournament, Israel had already earned two medals: a historic gold from Itzhak Ashpiz (under 60 kg), who proudly brought Hatikvah to Peru, and a bronze from Tamar Malka (under 48 kg), marking her first return to the podium in more than a year.
Hershko, competing in the +78 kg division, won the gold medal after defeating Estonia’s Lama Melis Aktas, who accumulated two penalties in the final.
The Israeli heavyweight entered the competition in the second round thanks to her world ranking and advanced to the quarterfinals, where she beat Angola’s Kimbira by ippon near the end of the match – a contest she controlled from start to finish, recording three yuko scores before sealing the victory. In the semifinals, Hershko overcame France’s Myanandy Lahou, who received three penalties, to secure her place in the final.
Mishiner, also competing in the +78 kg category, won the bronze medal match by waza-ari against Italy’s Asia Tavano. Mishiner began her campaign in the second round, where she lost to France’s Lahou – the same judoka who later fell to Hershko in the semifinals – sending Mishiner into the repechage.
There, she faced Angola’s Kimbira, another athlete previously defeated by Hershko, and prevailed with two waza-ari scores to advance to the bronze medal bout, where she claimed victory.
Inbar Lanir was eliminated
In the under-78 kg division, Inbar Lanir was eliminated in her first match by France’s Kalia Issoufi, who won with two waza-ari scores. Issoufi went on to reach the final and earn her first-ever Grand Prix podium.
Earlier in the competition, on Monday, Adelina Novitzky (under 70 kg) began in the second round, defeating Ecuador’s Coruzo with two yuko scores. In the quarterfinals, she fell to the experienced Swedish judoka Erickson, who threw her for ippon just 17 seconds into the match.
Novitzky dropped to the repechage, where she was beaten by Slovenia’s Shuster, who scored two waza-ari points after Novitzky had taken an early lead with one of her own but was unable to close out the contest.
Maya Goshen, also in the under-70 kg category, was forced to withdraw from the competition due to illness.
In the under-63 kg division, Kerem Primo lost a grueling second-round match to Brazil’s da Silva after an exhausting 9:14-minute golden score battle.
Both judokas had two penalties at the six-minute mark, and after three more minutes without a decisive score, Primo was given a third penalty for a false attack, ending her run.
Teammate Inbal Shemesh also began in the second round but was disqualified against France’s Drid following a referee’s decision, bringing her tournament to an early close.
Among the men, Itay Bivytko (under 81 kg) was defeated in the first round despite a strong showing. After taking the lead with a waza-ari and two yuko scores, he was overtaken near the end by Italy’s Parlati, who matched his earlier waza-ari and added another to claim victory.
In the under-100 kg category, Yosef Simin lost his opening match to France’s Dais, who scored two waza-ari to advance.
Overall, the Israeli team’s performance in Lima – capped by Hershko’s gold and Mishiner’s bronze – underscored the continued strength and depth of Israeli judo on the international stage.
Category: General Sports
