Boukli survives a brutal final to seize fifth European crown

The opening day of the European Championships in Tbilisi delivered exactly the kind of tension fans expect in the -48 kg category. There were no easy routes, no quiet endings, and in the middle of it all stood Shirine Boukli once again. The French top seed and defending champion powered her way into another final, chasing a fifth continental gold.

Her last match of the day brought a serious test against Sabina Giliazova. Boukli looked composed early on, using her positional awareness and strong kumi-kata to stay in control. But finals rarely stay comfortable for long, and Giliazova steadily changed the rhythm, meeting the French judoka head-on and turning the contest into a battle of nerve as much as technique.

With one minute left in regular time, both athletes were level on two Shido. Golden score then stretched the drama even further. Momentum moved from one side to the other, and as fatigue built, clean attacks became harder to produce. In the end, the decisive moment came through penalties: Giliazova received the final Shido, and Boukli secured a fifth European title in a contest that demanded patience, resilience and total focus.

Boukli had to dig deep before gold finally became hers.

There was also a European highlight in the second bronze medal match. Spain’s Laura Martinez Abelenda bounced back well from quarter-final disappointment to defeat Shafag Hamidova of Azerbaijan. A sharp ko-uchi-gake with under two minutes remaining gave her the score, and she managed the closing stages with impressive calm to earn her second European bronze after 2023.

In the other bronze contest, Marina Vorobeva overcame Spain’s Eva Perez Soler. Their match stayed balanced for much of the time before Vorobeva found an opening with an unusual ko-uchi-gake for yuko and quickly followed with Ippon in groundwork. Even in defeat, Perez Soler’s run to her first senior European final block appearance was a notable step.

Source: EJU_News