Judoka Jorge Fonseca, two-time world champion in 2019 and 2021 and bronze medalist at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, was eliminated this Sunday in the round of 16 in -100 kg of the European Championships in Montpellier, France.
Jorge Fonseca, 31, who is still looking for his first European title, after being a bronze medalist in the continental competition in 2020, in Prague, could not resist an old acquaintance, the Spanish ‘giant’ Nikoloz Sherazadishvili.
The two judokas know each other well, both were European club champions with Sporting, but the Spaniard recently moved up a category, leaving the -90 kg category, in which he was also two-time world champion, to start competing in -100 kg. .
Sherazadishvili and Fonseca had already met twice, with one victory each.
In a new confrontation today, at the Arena Sud de France, the balance prevailed until the final part of the fight, when it became clear that Sherazadishvili was in greater strength than the Portuguese, after he even saw the video referee reverse a possible waza-ari . .
With the two judokas covered by punishments, Fonseca carried out an action that was initially considered by the canvas referee and then reversed by the video, in the final 11 seconds, and already on the golden score Sherazadishvili was ahead.
The Spaniard managed to catch the Portuguese’s back for the third time – who in previous attempts he had dodged with his stomach on the canvas – and closed the fight and the classification with an ippon 41 seconds into extra time.
For the Sporting judoka it is another difficult exit from the continental competition, in a year in which he was greatly affected by injuries, in February with a micro muscle tear, and had a certain loss of confidence.
Even so, the club’s selector and coach, Pedro Soares, had also said, in statements to the Lusa agency, that the Eurocup was not prepared to be the “highlight” and when the team adds points for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games .
Against Jorge Fonseca, judoka Rochele Nunes, who has two medals in the continental competition (2020 and 2021), fell, surprisingly, in the first fight, with disqualification just a few seconds before the start.
The Benfica judoka tried to project her opponent, the Ukrainian Khrystyna Homan (99th), but the referee applied a hansoku-make, intended for the accumulation of punishments or a serious infraction, which puts the opponent at risk.
Rochele was disqualified after 42 seconds, when the referee understood that the judoka caught her opponent’s arm, in a kind of standing block, and before turning to the ground, putting Homan at risk, with the sign next to her elbow. .
Source: TSF
