Last week Tel Aviv,
in Israel, played venue for a major judo competition in the Grand Slam category.
At the event, which brought together over 400 athletes from 60 countries,
Romania was represented by 9 judokas. Out of the Romanian delegation in Tel
Aviv, Alexandru Raicu obtained the best performance in the contest of the
73-kilogram category and for this performance Radio Romania has designated him
Athlete of the Week.
The Romanian
managed to defeat Lukas Reiter of Austria in the first round and Victor Sterpu,
a challenger from the Republic of Moldova, in the round of 16. Raicu
outperformed Israeli Tohar Butbul in the quarterfinals and Nugzari
Tatalashvilli of Georgia in the semis. In the finals, the Romanian clinched a victory
against Giovanni Esposito of Italy and stepped onto the first step of the
podium.
Alexandru Raicu was born on 20th December 1996
and got his first good results in the cadets and junior competitions. As a
senior athlete he became Romania’s champion twice, in 2018, in Cluj, and in 2019,
in Iaşi, in the 73-kilogram competitions. He shot to international fame in
February last year in a competition hosted by the Austrian city of Oberwart.
His victory in Israel is a confirmation of his latest progress and brings him
1,000 points in the international ranking of the 73-kilogram category pushing
him to the 30th position.
(bill)