Israel enjoyed a dream start to the Under-21 Jiu-Jitsu World Championships in Abu Dhabi on Sunday as Noga Reshef captured the world title and Yoav Solomon earned a bronze medal to lead an impressive opening day for the blue-and-white delegation.
Israeli Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates Yossi Shelley was on hand at Mubadala Arena throughout the competition, cheering on the athletes before personally presenting the medals to the Israeli winners during the victory ceremonies.
Reshef, the reigning European champion, claimed the gold medal in the women’s under-63 kg division to become the new Under-21 world champion. She defeated the United Arab Emirates’ hometown favorite in a tightly contested final that was decided in golden score after Reshef executed a decisive sweep. Following her victory, Hatikvah was played inside the arena as the Israeli flag was raised.
Solomon added to Israel’s medal haul by capturing bronze in the men’s under-56 kg category, defeating an opponent from Singapore in the third-place match.
The medals highlighted a strong overall performance by the Israeli team, which recorded several additional encouraging results during the opening day of competition.
Coach praises Israel’s strong opening day
Head coach Amir Buaron praised his athletes.
“The team opened the World Championships with outstanding performances in an extremely tough tournament against many of the world’s strongest competitors,” Buaron said. “Noga showed tremendous skill and character in a very close final against the local favorite, while Yoav completed an excellent tournament with a bronze.”
“We’re now turning our attention to the rest of the championship, where many more of our athletes will compete, and we hope to continue this success. I would also like to thank everyone at the Israel Jiu-Jitsu Association and our professional staff –Tomer Elroy, Fabio Schokman, Alon Cohen and Ron Cohen – as well as association chairman Shay Stefanko and president Erez Elroy for their support.”
Buaron expressed appreciation to Ambassador Shelley.
“A special thank you to Ambassador Yossi Shelley for coming to watch the competition, standing alongside the team throughout the day and presenting the medals to our athletes during such emotional moments.”
The championships continue on Monday with the opening of the Under-16 competition, where Israel’s young athletes will look to build on the team’s successful start.
Jiu-jitsu in Israel operates under the umbrella of the Ayelet Federation, the national organization representing Israel’s non-Olympic sports associations.