Klen Kaljulaid just misses out on judo world championship medal
Estonian judoka Klen Kristofer Kaljulaid finished fifth in the men's under 90 kg competition at the ongoing World Championships in Budapest, just outside the medals.
Kaljulaid, 30, who made his Olympic debut last year in Paris, had recently also placed fifth at Grand Slam tournaments in Tokyo in December and Paris in February.
Kaljulaid got a bye in the first round, going on to beat Toni Miletic (Bosnia and Herzegovina) and Vadim Ghimbovschi (Moldova) in the first two rounds.
In the quarterfinal, he had to face the 2022 world champion Luka Maisuradze (Georgia), who proved stronger than the Estonian, sending him into the repechage (playoff) bouts.
In this phase, Kaljulaid first faced French judoka Maxime-Gael Ngayap Hambou, a bronze medalist before a home crowd at last year's Paris Olympics. Kaljulaid managed a win, advancing to the bronze medal phase.
In the battle for a World Championship medal, Kaljulaid lost to the 23-year-old Azerbaijani Eljan Hajiyev, last year's European champion.
Maisuradze took the other bronze while the final was contested by competitors from judo's homeland, as Sanshiro Murao overcame Goki Tajima.
Editor:
Editor: Siim Boikov Andrew Whyte
