Vladimir Iacomi is one of the most promising pupils of the judo school in Balti // Photo: esp.md.
Yakomi won a silver medal in the weight category up to 60 kg, and Ivan Rotashniuk became a bronze medalist in the category up to 66 kg.
“Silver medal for Moldovan judoka
On his way to the final, the 19-year-old Yakomi defeated Carlos Torres (Spain), Thomas Sassi (Italy) and Romain Demonnier-Badie (France). The pupil of the Boris Petukhov Specialized Sports School from Balti reached the final, where he lost with a minimal advantage to Raffaele Sodano from Italy.
The bronze medalists in the category up to 60 kg were Demonnier-Bagyi and Mattia Pellizzaro (Italy).
One victory was not enough to reach the final
Less successful was the performance of Ivan Rotasniuc, 18-year-old pupil of Tiraspol wrestling and boxing school, who stopped one step away from the final. He alternately knocked out Eduardo Galindo (Spain), Stilian Gushkov (Bulgaria) and Miguel Figueiredo (Portugal).
In the 1/2 finals, Rotasniuc faced Italy’s Antonio Esposito. The Moldovan athlete earned one yuko, while his opponent earned two. Esposito advanced to the big final, in which he lost to Mustafa Simsek from Turkey, while the Moldovan judoka got an opportunity to fight for the bronze medal in the small final.
Rotasniuc had the lot to fight with his compatriot Valeriu Seu. The winner was Rotasniuc, who earned a wazari and an ippon. The second bronze medalist was Figueiredo.
362 athletes from 23 countries took part in the European Junior Cup in Portugal, playing 14 sets of medals (seven each among girls and boys).
