Taís Pina is on a roll. The 20-year-old judoka from Algés has just secured a spot in the semifinals of the European Judo Championships in Podgorica, Montenegro. She took down world No. 2 Lara Cvjetko with a wazari just 20 seconds from the end of their quarterfinal match.
Pina’s opponent in the semis will be Szofi Ozbas from Hungary. Ozbas edged out Spain’s Aí Tsunoda, daughter of former Japanese coach Go Tsunoda, with a yuko.
Pina’s road to the semis wasn’t easy. She had a bye in the first round, then beat Israel’s Adelina Nowitzki with a wazari and an immobilization in the second round. The match was tight, with both fighters scoring once. Pina won when she immobilized Nowitzki 0.37 seconds from the end.
In the next round, Pina faced Poland’s Alesandra Kowalewska. The match lasted 7 minutes and 1 second, with Pina finally scoring an ippon with an ushiro gari. This was their third meeting, and Pina now leads 3-1.
Pina’s performance is notable, especially since she’s only in her first season as a senior. Last year, she won bronze at the under-23 European Championships in Potsdam. Now, she’s following in the footsteps of judoka Telma Monteiro by qualifying for the Olympics as a junior.
Two other Portuguese judokas, Bárbara Timo and João Fernando, were eliminated earlier in the competition.
- Bárbara Timo competed in the -70 kg category.
- João Fernando was in the -81 kg category.
Catarina Costa, who competed in the -48 kg category, won silver earlier in the championships.