52 seconds to control: Szofi Özbas keeps her grip on Europe’s -70 kg crown

Hungary’s Szofi Özbas delivered another statement in the -70 kg division, successfully defending her European title with a performance that felt calm, sharp and unmistakably decisive. In a final featuring two of the category’s rising names, she faced France’s Melkia Auchecorne and never let the contest drift into a fight on the French judoka’s terms. Özbas, ranked world number four, looked exactly like an athlete who knows how to win when the stakes are highest.

One clean moment changed the whole final.

The match was effectively settled almost immediately. After just 52 seconds, Özbas produced the scoring action that put her in front, and from there she managed distance and tempo with real authority. Auchecorne, still only 21, had impressed all day and came in with momentum, including a strong semi-final win over Madina Taimazova, but she couldn’t build any meaningful response once Özbas took control.

Özbas’s route to gold also underlined the level of competition inside European judo right now. In the semi-final she beat Switzerland’s April Lynn Fohouo, the reigning junior world champion, showing she could handle both emerging speed and senior-level pressure.

The bronze medals reinforced that same European depth. Fohouo bounced back to claim bronze with a standout win over world number one Lara Cvjetko, another clear sign that her transition from junior champion to senior contender is happening fast. Taimazova, already proven on the Olympic and world stage, secured the other bronze by rebounding strongly after her semi-final defeat.

Coached by Barna Bor, Özbas captured her second European title, adding to a continental bronze earlier in her career and continuing a run that includes Grand Slam victories in Baku, Tbilisi, Abu Dhabi and Paris. In a division getting tighter every season, she’s still the one setting the standard.

Source: JudoInside