JERUSALEM, March 3 (Xinhua) -- Israeli judoka Arik Ze'evi qualified for the Beijing Olympics on Sunday after winning the under 100 kilogram competition at the World Cup event in Prague. Ze'evi, a bronze medallist from the Athens Games, won four of his five fights on Sunday with an ippon, and proved that he's hitting form just in time ahead of this summer's Olympics in China, local daily Jerusalem Post said on Monday. The 31-year-old Israeli beat defending Olympic champion Keiji Suzuki in the quarterfinal and claimed the gold medal with two more ippons in the semifinal and final against Levan Zhorzholiani and Yauhen Biadulin respectively, said the paper. Another Israeli judoka Gal Yekutiel finished fifth in the under 60kg event in Prague on Saturday. Israel's remaining male and female judokas will have the last opportunity to book a flight to China in the European Championships, which will start in Portugal on April 11, it added.
|