BUDAPEST, Jun 16 (WAM/APP): UAE national judo team athlete Mohamed Yazbek secured the bronze medal in the under-81kg category at the OTP Bank World Judo Championships, currently taking place in the Hungarian capital, Budapest, with participation from 93 countries.
His achievement placed the UAE first among Arab nations and 12th globally in the overall tournament standings.
Yazbek earned his podium finish after an impressive run in a highly competitive group that included 45 internationally ranked judokas. He clinched victory in the bronze medal contest against Serbia’s Mohamed Bekov, marking one of the team’s most notable results in global tournaments leading up to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.
The Emirati athlete came close to reaching the final but was narrowly defeated in the quarter-final by France’s Joan-Benjamin Gaba, the reigning world champion and Olympic medallist.
The championship continues into its fifth day with the heavyweight under-90kg category, where UAE’s Suleiman Ibrahim is set to face Senegal’s Abdoul Rahman Diaw.
