Israel's under-18 judo team wrapped up its finest World Championship campaign in the country's history in Guayaquil, Ecuador, with Tom Simkhaev claiming bronze in the men's -66kg category and Yali Yahav finishing fifth in the women's -52kg draw.
Simkhaev, the world number one in his age group heading into the event, tore through the early rounds with four straight ippon victories before running into Georgia's Giorgi Kapanidze in the semi-final, where he came up short. He regrouped for the bronze medal bout and beat another Georgian, Giorgi Avaliani, to secure the medal.
Yahav was equally impressive on her side of the draw, winning her round-of-16 and quarter-final contests by ippon against opponents from Mongolia, Colombia and Italy. Her run ended in the semi-final against Kazakhstan's Fatima Sufigaliyeva, and she then lost the bronze medal contest to Portugal's Sofia Gasper, leaving her fifth overall.
Their results capped a three-medal championship for the Israeli delegation in the Ecuadorian port city, where Ella Bar Lev had already won gold in the women's -48kg category earlier in the week — becoming Israel's first-ever cadet world champion — with teammate Agam Noy taking bronze in the same weight class.
One gold and two bronze medals from a single World Cadet Championships is a record for Israeli judo at this level, and it lifted the national team to fifth place in the overall medal table in Guayaquil, an event that drew competitors from 62 countries.
"This is the best junior World Championship we've ever had," national head coach Shani Hershko said, according to ONE, pointing to a younger generation carrying forward the recent success of Israel's senior judo team, which won three medals at the Paris Olympics.
Israel Judo Association chairman Moshe Ponti called it "a very emotional championship" that "shows the deep work Israeli judo is doing" and reflects the professional team's direction, per the same report.
The individual competition in Guayaquil ran from August 20-22, with team events to follow, as the sport's next generation continues to build toward the senior international circuit.
