Taís Pina Just Misses Bronze at Hungary Grand Slam

Portuguese judoka Taís Pina secured a fifth-place finish in the -70 kg category at the Hungary Grand Slam in Budapest. The Portuguese athlete narrowly missed out on a bronze medal, falling to the experienced Austrian Michaela Polleres in the decisive bout.

Polleres, a silver medalist at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and a bronze medalist at Paris 2024, defeated the young Portuguese, currently ranked 23rd globally, by ippon, ending Pina's medal aspirations.

Taís Pina's path to the bronze medal match included victories over opponents such as Azerbaijan's Sudaba Aghayeva (76th), American Isabella Garriga (94th), and, notably, a surprising win against world number one Lara Cvetjo of Croatia, with a yuko making the difference. However, in the semi-finals, the Portuguese Olympian conceded by the narrowest margin to Brazil's Kaillay Cardoso (51st).

In the -63 kg category, Joana Crisóstomo (101st) advanced past the first round by defeating Japan's Minami Aono (67th) by ippon, but was subsequently eliminated by Slovenia's Kaja Kajzer Zakbar, who went on to become the event's runner-up.

In the men's competition, Otari Kvantidze (38th) in the -73 kg category also exited in the second round. After an ippon victory over Poland's Wiktor Mrowczynski (121st), the Portuguese judoka was eliminated by Israel's Ohad Moritz (179th) in a contest decided by two yukos to one.

Portuguese participation in the Budapest Grand Slam continues on Sunday, with attention turning to Olympic medalists Patrícia Sampaio (-78 kg), a bronze medalist at Paris 2024, and Jorge Fonseca (-100 kg), who took third in Tokyo 2020. Rochele Nunes (+78 kg) will also be in action on the final day of the competition.