Twenty-year-old Ertug won silver at the Junior European Championships in Prague last year, but was an outsider against Krpálek. Their duel of the second round did not bring any scoring technique for a long time, on the contrary, after 68 seconds they both had two penalties. At the beginning of the third minute, Krpálek tried to attack, but the video recording convicted him of a violation of the rules, which is followed by disqualification.
The Czech favorite did not hide his anger. “I felt really great, I was well prepared. That was also the reason why I said that I would start at this European Championship. He was definitely an opponent to beat. I know I should have won this match, unfortunately I made a mistake for which I was punished,” he said in a recording for the media.
The rule prohibiting contact of the head with tatami, which is supposed to protect the health of judokas, is only a few years old. In the spring, it helped Krpálek advance to the semi-finals of the World Cup, yet the Czech giant does not agree with him for a long time. “I would prefer to cancel this rule because it affects a lot of matches,” said Krpálek. Another hope of the Czech team, Renata Zachová, paid the price for the same offense at the EC.
Krpálek regretted the early elimination also because he did not get to meet an attractive opponent. “I was preparing a lot for the next match with the Georgian (Guram) Tushishvili, that we will repeat the final match from the Olympics. I’m terribly sorry. I know that it could have been a medal today. The matches that could come after that were playable,” said the 32-year-old Czech international.
After a week-old failure at the Grand Slam in Abu Dhabi, where he knocked out only one opponent and did not advance to the quarterfinals, he did not succeed even in his thirteenth appearance at the European Championship. He did not follow up on the three titles or the bronze he won at the last start in 2021. On the contrary, he did not advance to the quarterfinals for only the third time. He was last eliminated in the round of 16 in 2016 in Kazan, when he also struggled with a shoulder injury a quarter of a year before winning the Olympic gold in Rio. Krpálk’s greatest success this season remains the world silver, which he won in May in the category up to 100 kilograms.
He will stay in France for three days fishing. Then he will discuss the next program with coach Petr Lacina. “I will definitely fly to Japan for the training camp. If I will start there at the Grand Slam, it will be decided in the course of the following days, maybe weeks,” explained Krpálek. He is considering how to handle the December tournament in Tokyo.
The Czech team will leave the EC without a single win. Even before Krpálek today, Olympian David Klammert was eliminated in the 1st round of the category under 90 kilograms. The participant of the Olympic Games in Tokyo was not enough for the home favorite Axel Clerget, a two-time bronze medalist of the World Cup. The French was not stopped even by the treatment of a bloody wound, which he had to undergo after only 46 seconds of the fight. After a rather long break, he returned to the tatami with a bandaged head and in the third minute of the fight on the ground he ended the fight with an ipon after Klammert gave up in a hopeless position.
European Judo Championship in Montpellier (France): Men: Up to 90 kg: 1. Majdov (Serbia)2. Bekauri (Georgia)3. Tóth (Hungary) and Zgank (Turkey) KLAMMERT (CZE) was eliminated in the 1st roundUp to 100 kg: 1. Kocoev (Azerbaijan)2. Sulamenidze (Georgia)3. Kanikovskij (Rus.) and Sherazadishvili (Sp.) Over 100 kg: 1. Puumalainen (Fin.)2. Tushishvili (Georgia)3. Jendovickij (Rus.) and Snippe (Netherlands) KRPÁLEK (CZ) was eliminated in the 2nd round Women: Under 78 kg: 1. Böhmová (German)2. Bellandiová (It.)3. Sampaiová (Portugal) and Lanirová (Izr.) Over 78 kg: 1. Dicková (Fr.)2. Heršková (Izr.)3. Kampsová (Netherlands) and Tavanová (It.)
