Switzerland’s Nils Stump (right) and Italy’s Manuel Lombardo compete in the men’s -73Kg final bout, yesterday. Pictures: AFP
Swiss former European Championships bronze medalist Nils Stump yesterday clinched his maiden World gold to earn his country’s biggest win at the global stage in Judo.
At the Ali Bin Hamad Al Attiyah Arena last evening, the 26-year-old Stump defeated former European champion Manuel Lombardo of Italy in the -73kg weight class final on the third day of the IJF World Judo Championships - Doha 2023 .
Before heading to Doha, Stump, who had failed to move beyond the Round of 32 at the Tokyo Olympics, impressed the world by winning two IJF Grand Slam gold medals, in Abu Dhabi last year, and Tel Aviv in February this year.
Stump, the world number 9, was looking dangerous in the Pool stage, having thrown China’s Daga Qing and Petru Pelivan of Moldova, before upsetting former Asian and world champion Soichi Hashimoto in the quarter-final.
Hashimoto, who defeated former world and Olympic champion Lasha Shavdatuashvili in a high-profile round 2 clash before the quarter-final loss to Stump, eventually went on to settle for a bronze medal, along with Uzbek Muradjon Yuldashev.
Stump’s opponent in the title clash, sixth seed Lombardo was also no easy opponent, having won the European title in 2021 following an impressive run at the Tokyo Games where he finished fifth. The Italian had won the silver medal at the 2021 Worlds in Budapest, competing in the 66kg class before moving up to 73kg.
Stump’s gold delighted Swiss fans at the venue as well as those who were watching from home.
The President of the Swiss Judo Federation, Sergei Aschwanden was elated with joy after Stumps made history for their country.
“Nils progressed from year to year and he won on experience and stability. His performance today was tremendous and it shows with work and confidence you can go very far. The work between Nils and (coach) Alexei Budolin shows us how important it is to have trust and a good relationship to have big results. Congratulations to Alexei. Hopefully this title will help our sport to develop and gain members, we as a federation have to work on it,” Aschwanden told European Judo Union’s official web site.
On the women’s side, celebrated Japan-born Canadian Christa Deguchi clinched her second world title to add to her golden record which also includes two Pan American titles, one Commonwealth Games win, six IJF Grand Slam and four IJF Grand Prix titles.
The 27-year-old champion judoka, who switched her nationality in 2017, yesterday beat Japan’s Haruka Funakubo in than two minutes into the 57kg final. Jessica Klimkait, who won bronze at the Tokyo Olympics, earned Canada’s second medal of the day, finishing third alongside Mongolia’s Enkhriilen Lkhagvatogoo.
At the end of the third day of the competition, Japan lead the medal tally with seven medals, including three gold and two silver medals, followed by Canada who have one gold and a bronze.
Today’s action will see competitions in the 81kg (men) and 63kg (women) weight groups.
