Aleksandra Samardžić wins bronze medal at Judo Grand Prix tournament in Austria

(Patria) - Aleksandra Samardžić won a bronze medal at the Judo Grand Prix tournament held in Austria.

The Bosnian representative achieved a great result, earning an additional 350 points on the ranking list, which further solidified her position leading to the Olympic Games in Paris.

In the first round she had a bye, then in the round of 32 she defeated a representative of Switzerland, after which she was better than a representative of Portugal in the round of 16. In the quarterfinals she was better than a representative of Australia, but was stopped in the semifinals by a representative of Italy. However, in the bronze medal match she managed to defeat a representative of Poland and win the bronze medal.

“I am very happy and satisfied, this was a great day for me. I won the first two matches with a maximum result, ippon. In the quarterfinals I had a fight with a representative of Australia who is extremely unpleasant, she had beaten me before, she is tenth on the world ranking list, so that victory means a lot to me. In the semifinals I unfortunately lost to a representative of Italy, she took a waza-ari lead which I failed to catch up. For the bronze I had a match with a representative of Poland, I beat her on three penalties, tactically, and thus I won my second Grand Prix medal.”

Samardžić did not hide her happiness given that besides the medal, she earned new points on the ranking list leading to the Olympic Games.

“This medal is very significant because it brings big points, 350 points for the world and Olympic ranking list, which is certainly a big step towards the Olympic Games taking place this summer in Paris. I would certainly like to thank everyone who supports me, especially coaches Branislav Crnogorac and Arijana Jaha,” Samardžić stated at the end.

In addition to Aleksandra Samardžić, her sister Anđela also competed, who was defeated by a representative of Japan, while Toni Miletić and Larisa Cerić will compete today.