“It is a great experience to win a gold medal in Morocco, hear Hatikva and feel so proud of our athletes and the State of Israel,” said national team coach Shani Hershko.
By ALLON SINAIIsraeli judoka Timna Nelson Levy(photo credit: Courtesy)
Israel’s national judo women’s team experienced a successful weekend at the Grand Prix event in Agadir, Morocco, with Timna Nelson Levy winning a gold medal and Gefen Primo and Inbal Shemesh taking bronzes.Nelson Levy finished in first place in the under-57-kilogram event, beating Kaja Kazer of Slovenia in the final on Friday and singing proudly as the Hatikva national anthem played in Morocco.The 17-year-old Primo surprised countrywoman Betina Temelkova in the battle for the bronze in the under-52kg competition on Friday, while Shemesh finished third in the under- 63kg contest on Saturday after benefiting from the withdrawal of an Algerian opponent.Shemesh advanced automatically to the semifinals of her event, where she lost to Andreja Leski of Slovenia before defeating Moroccan Sofia Belattar for the bronze.“It is a great experience to win a gold medal in Morocco, hear Hatikva and feel so proud of our athletes and the State of Israel,” said national team coach Shani Hershko. “Our daily work has proven itself time and again. The athletes are working really hard and are setting themselves tough targets in each practice and each competition and are building themselves an amazing future. I’m really proud of them.“Our main target is success at the European Championships in Tel Aviv next month and I hope that these achievements give the athletes more motivation ahead of this goal.”
