At the second largest judo event of the year in Austria, after the Linz Grand Prix, on Saturday in Gmunden (from 2.30 p.m.) the title in the Bundesliga is at stake – yes, about “them” and not “them”. For the first time, the women are also taking part in their Final Four, and that is why two Viennese teams are in action instead of the usual one. The Allianz Kukla Galaxy Tigers are fighting for their eleventh title, the women from Vienna Samurai / WAT Stadlau want “whatever works”. And all of this in one round instead of the previous two, but with two Viennese teams instead of one…
“It is high time that we women became part of this event,” says Narges Mohsenithe trainer of Vienna Samurai / Vienna ASKÖ Team Stadlau. “So far we have had our final round together with the student league, which has been frustrating.” The fighting group from Vienna, formed with judoka from the two friendly clubs, has already achieved its goal for the season by making it into the top 4. “We can only win in Gmunden, just see what’s possible,” says Mohseni, who relies primarily on her most experienced judoka. Jacqueline Springer At 24 years old, she is also the oldest of the group, which is otherwise only made up of young talents. In the semi-finals, the “Samstads” meet SU Noricum Leibnitz, against whom they lost 2:4 in the regular round. “But the fights were all very close,” says Narges. Last weekend the troop trained with the Viennese youngsters, also on the topic of “team building”, and there will be a joint final training session on Friday. If – by the way, without Legionnaires – the semi-final victory against Leibnitz succeeds, then the final opponent would be UJZ Mühlviertel or ASKÖ Reichraming. That said, mind you…
In the men’s category, series champions Allianz Kukla Galaxy Tigers are aiming for their eleventh title since their first in 2013. This would bring them level with record champions UJZ Mühlviertel, who are the first hurdle in Gmunden. And certainly a higher score than in the regular season (11:3 for Galaxy). Because the Upper Austrians show up with their tried and tested international legionnaires and a Viennese – Stephan Hegyi will probably be in the heavyweight division Movli Borchashvilli meet, which would mean a repeat of the final match at the state championship. The Moldovan will be with the Tigers Denis VieruOlympic bronze medalist in Paris 2024 and European champion 2023 (up to 66 kilos) – get on the mat, and, like trainers Thomas Haasmann reveals, “another 60s”. But it must have been used at least once in the basic round. “There is no room left for tactics. And with the decision to fight in just one round, we are also deprived of every last bit of leeway. “They’re doing everything they can to stop us from becoming champions,” the Galaxy coach complains about the organizers. Nevertheless, they prepared well for the Final Four and spent ten days in the high-altitude camp in Kühtai. “Peter Lichtblau “It made it possible for us to train on the tatami in Wattens,” says “Haasi” thanks to the Tyrolean club boss. And Kondi trainer Sep Resnik was “also very valuable” in Kühtai. By the way: Bernd Faschingwho recently had problems with his elbow, is fit again. If we beat Mühlviertel, we would be in the final against the winner from Multikraft Wels (whose… Manfred Dullinger was awarded “Coach of the Year” against ESV Sanjindo Bischofshofen. It will definitely be exciting!
Schedule Final Four 2024 – Saturday, November 30, 2024 – Gmunden Sports Hall:
- 1:00 p.m.: Abwaage
- 14:30: 1st women’s semifinal: UJZ Mühlviertel (among others with Mikota, Peherstorfer, Schlögl, Summer) – Askö Reichraming (Muntsurova, Starzer, Wöss)
- 15:15: 1st men’s semifinal: LZ Multikraft Wels (Borchashvili, Kaserer, Leutgeb, Sulamanidze/GEO) – ESV Sanjindo Bischofshofen (Auer, Lesiuk/UKR, Niederdorfer, Scharfetter, Zgank/TUR)
- 16:30: 2nd women’s semifinal: SU Noricum Leibnitz (Hiden, Mairhofer, Tretnjak) – Team Samurai/Stadlau (Amann, Bayr, Springer, Wernert)
- 17:15: 2nd men’s semifinal: Allianz Kukla Galaxy Tigers (Magamed, Movli Borchashvilli, Fasching, Tsjkadoea/NED, Vieru/MDA) – UJZ Mühlviertel (Adamyan, Hegyi, Kukolj/SRB, Nyman/SWE)
- 19:15: Women’s final
- 8:15 p.m.: Men’s final (live on ORFSport+)
Foto oben: So jubelten die Galaxy Tigers im Vorjahr über ihren zehnten Titel - @Judo Austria / Oliver Sellner
