October 7, 2021 - A month after winning a gold medal at the European championship, the Croatian judoka Katarina Krišto wins a bronze medal at the World championship!

One of the best competitors in the junior category worldwide, the Croatian judoka managed to prove her potential once more today. After 5 great performances at the World Junior Championship held in Italian Oblia, she managed to continue her medal streak at the biggest competitions. This only secures her first spot in the world rankings for juniors in her weight class, half middleweight (up to 63 kg).

The Croatian future judo superstar regrets she lost her concentration in the semi-finals, where she lost to the Spanish competitor, Vasquez Fernandez. However, the bronze medal fight was a real thriller, in which the young judoka from Kaštela secured her victory over the Hungarian Ozbas in the last second! In her first statement, Katarina thanked her judo club, the national judo association, her fans as well as the entire town of Kaštela, which has supported her since the beginning of her successful judo career.

Kristina Krišto is not the only Croatian participating at the European championships. Ana Viktorija Puljiz (half lightweight weight class) wasn't able to make it to the quarter-finals. We have yet to see how much Lara Cvetko (middleweight) and Josip Bulić (middleweight) can achieve in this competition.

To watch an interview our own Daniela Rogulj did with another Croatian judo star, Barbara Matić, follow this link. Hopefully, Katarina Krišto's career will develop in a way which will allow her to become just as successful as the World No. 1 judoka, Barbara Matić!

June 10, 2021 - Barbara Matić won the gold medal at the World Judo Championships in Hungary!

In the category of up to 70 kilograms, the Split judo fighter defeated the Japanese judo fighter Yoko Ono in the final thus achieved the best result in the history of Croatian judo.

Index.hr reports that Matić solved the fight with a great move 40 seconds before the end and defended herself masterfully until the end to reach the gold medal.

The 26-year-old Matić withstood the terrible attack in the last 28 seconds with her incredible defense and big heart, and then triumphantly raised her hands in the air to celebrate.

Matić thus continued with great results this season. In October, she achieved one of the best results of her career in Budapest after winning gold at the Grand Slam in Budapest, beating three medal winners from the last World Championships.

She also won the SN Athlete of the Year award and won silver at another Grand Slam as part of the IJF World Tour in Antalya, Turkey. She was in great shape before the European Championships but had to miss it as she tested positive for coronavirus. However, she made up for everything at this World Championships by winning the gold medal. She will go to the Olympic Games full of confidence.

Croatian judo fighters have not yet finished their performance in Hungary. On Friday, Karla Prodan will compete in the category up to 78 kilograms, and Zlatko Kumrić will be looking for a medal in the category up to 100 kilograms. Ivana Maranić will be looking for a place in the Olympic Games in the 78 kg category on Saturday.

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