BARBARA MATIĆ FIRST IN GEORGIA, ANA VIKTORIJA PULJIZ SILVER

The two-time world champion and the best Croatian judo, Barbara Matić, is the winner of the IJF Grand Slam in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi. With that triumph, she took the leading position in the world ranking of judos in the category up to 70 kg.

In the final, Matić defeated the Dutchwoman Sanne van Dijke, removing her from the top of the ranking and reducing her advantage in the duels between them to 2-3. As the second holder of the Grand Slam, she defeated the Brazilian Luana Carvalho in the first round, and in the second round she was better than the Uzbek Šokista Nazarova. In the finals, she also defeated Hilda Jager from the Netherlands and Giovanna Scoccimarro from Germany.

The latest gold medal is just a continuation of the excellent streak of the 29-year-old woman from Split, who since August last year has returned with a medal from all seven International Judo Federation (IJF) tournaments. She won three gold, silver and three bronze medals and recorded 29 wins and only four losses. The triumph in Tbilisi brought Barbara Matić another 1,000 points and the first place in the world rankings, which also includes the status of the first seed at the Olympic tournament in Paris.

Already on the first day of the IJF Grand Slam in Tbilisi, Ana Viktorija Puljiz made great news by winning the silver medal and 700 points in the world ranking. In the category up to 52 kg, after great fights, Puljiz lost the final match to the Spaniard Ariana Soler after 40 seconds of extra time. (hjs/hoo/vk)

The Croatian Olympic Committee (HOO) congratulates Barbara Matić on her gold medal and Ana Viktorija Puljiz on her silver medal at the IJF Grand Slam in Georgia!
Croatian Olympic Committee

SOURCE: Croatian Olympic Committee