It’s been 9 years since Kayra OZDEMIR (TUR/+78) made her World Championships debut in Astana (KAZ) in 2015. She lost in round three back then. On Thursday, in Abu Dhabi (UAE), the 36-year-old Turkish player made her 7th and final appearance at the World Championships. This time Kayra stormed through to the final for the first time, where she was beaten by Wakaba TOMITA (JPN) after 2 waza-ari scores.
“Of course I really wanted to win the final. After two bronze medals, a gold would have been too nice,” said the world number three openly afterwards. “But perhaps it’s better to remain modest for the Olympics. After this (clear) defeat, I know that I have to work really hard every day until Paris to be able to win a medal there.”
The Olympics have not been kind to Kayra Ozdemir so far. Twice, in 2016 and 2021, she lost the battle for bronze and had to make do with fifth place. “After Tokyo, I wanted to give up everything. But then I said to myself: you can’t stop like this. I want to reward myself with an Olympic medal in Paris by any means necessary.”
After that, it’s over for good.
Judoka
Author: EJU Media