Asi Maman 17/02/2021 14:22
Sagi Muki and Said Moulay (Instagram)
The battle that everyone is looking forward to may come at the Tel Aviv Grand Slam. Today (Wednesday) the prestigious competition was held, with world champion Sagi Muki expected to meet former world champion Said Moulay only in the final. At the same time, he may meet another Israeli opponent already in his first battle in the competition.
Muki and Moulay, who are competing in the weight class of up to 81 kg, really want to meet each other this coming Friday – after the Iranian was forced to boycott the Israeli at the 2019 World Cup in Tokyo due to heavy pressure exerted on him by the Iranian government. After all, it is possible that the guest will meet another Israeli opponent in his first battle, 19-year-old Segev Ben Harush.
The Grand Slam competitions in Tel Aviv will take place over three days this coming weekend. The battles will open tomorrow starting at 9:30 a.m. with the qualifying round, with Friday and Saturday the early competitions starting at 10:00 a.m. All finals will kick off at 5pm in each of the next three days. 442 athletes from 60 countries will take part in the competition, and all of them are already in the country.
Primo and Cohen are fighting for a ticket to Tokyo
The score this time will be higher than in the Grand Prix so qualifying for the fights for the medals can have a big impact. The most interesting fight will be up to 52 kg for women, between the young Geffen Primo and the veteran Gili Cohen, who are still competing against each other for the ticket to the Tokyo Olympics – when the current competition will actually be the one to decide.
Gili Cohen will face a Georgian rival in its first battle, with Geffen Primo opening in a not-so-easy encounter with British Chelsea Giles. The two Israelis, by the way, will only be able to meet in the final or in the battles for the medal. In their weight, Olympic champion Mario 2016, Melinda Clemendi, who Primo will be able to meet in the semifinals will also compete.
Coach of the women’s team Two Hershko Commenting on the fight between them: “Competition is a good thing that builds the athletes. I hope the best will be the one who will go out to participate in the Olympics. After this competition we will know who will represent Israel in Tokyo, but even after that it is not over because there will be more competitions.”
Hershko added: “There is a great deal of excitement because it is a Grand Slam and it is amazing that there is competition of this magnitude in Israel, probably at a time like this and in the situation we encountered with the closure of the airport, our union “This is a great stage before the Olympics and I hope my Judaism will provide a good performance. We are making great efforts to present our highest ability in the moment of truth.”
Chairman of the Judo Association, Moshe PontiHe said in a lottery: “The world is in a difficult time. We are returning to routine now, with hosting a competition like the Grand Slam in Tel Aviv. I want to personally thank Said Moulay and his coach who came here. They are the bravest people I have met.” Chairman of the World Association, Marius Wieser, Noted: “You can be proud of the organization of this competition, which shows the uniqueness of this country.”
