Maruša Štangar, a judoka from Olimpia Ljubljana, won first place in the category up to 48 kg at the Grand Prix tournament in Linz. In the attractive final, she defeated Laura Martinez Abelenda after a reversal with technique on the ground floor.
The 24-year-old Spaniard got off to a better start to the final and scored after only half a minute with good technique vases. Maruša Štangar, a year older, then began the hunt for victory, and open and attacking judo offered opportunities for counterattacks to her rival.
It was decided a minute before the end, when the woman from Ljubljana managed to create a position on the ground floor for the final hold, which she held until iPhone.
“It’s not pleasant to fall behind in the final, but luckily there was still a lot of time until the end and that’s why I didn’t change my tactics. The concentration remained on the same things,Maruša Štangar told STA after the victory. About the tactics themselves, she added: “Parter is my strong point and I try to use it. Of course, honey is necessary fight judge whether it is worthwhile to persist with this method or to look for a decision elsewhere. Also in fight opportunities were offered while standing, it worked out in the ground floor.”
The 25-year-old Slovenian judoka previously defeated Lejla Alijeva from Azerbaijan, and in a tense match after extra time she defeated Portugal’s Raquel Brito and in the most important match in the quarter-finals, the 11th competitor from the world ranking, the Italian Francesca Milani, and made amends to her for last year’s defeats.
“The hardest one was right fight with an Italian woman. She is extremely strong and her style doesn’t sit well with me. He still has a lot of experience to spare. I lost quickly with her last time. It was clear that I had more chances if I could last the opening two minutes, as it started to loosen up, and I was better prepared in terms of fitness, at least today. Today it worked out and I started to develop my method in the second part fights.”
In the semifinals, the 25-year-old Slovenian representative won a duel with the bronze medalist from the Grand Slam in Tel Aviv, Brazil’s Natasha Ferreira. “It was a really busy day. I had five fight and for all of these you have to endure physically and keep your concentration and I’m glad I was able to do that. I saw my opportunity and stuck to the tactics that we outlined with coach, and went all the way,” said the winner, who will only be at home for one day, and next week she has a match in Tajikistan, where her sister Anja will also compete.
In the category up to 57 kg, Kaja Kajzer was eliminated in the second round, David Štarkel lost his first match in the category up to 60 kg.
11 Slovenian competitors are competing in Linz.
Source: Rtvslo
