Karate ace Lejla Topalovic’s successful run only came to an end in the final fight of the European Championships in Croatia. The Salzburg native, who started for Wels, was still in the lead until 1.6 seconds before the end. In the end, the 23-year-old was “only” left with the silver medal.
With 1.6 seconds to go, karateka Lejla Topalovic already thought she was the new European champion in kumite up to 61 kilograms. The native of Salzburg, who competes for Karate-do Wels, had already led 5:2 in the final in Zadar, Croatia. But her opponent Ingrida Bakos from Slovakia struck ice cold. First, Topalovic accepted the equalizer and with 0.7 seconds left she conceded the decisive 5:6. Bakos celebrated European Championship gold for the second time after 2022. For Topalovic there was “only” silver. The disappointment shortly after the end was great. “Everything worked out for me in the final, but I made a few small mistakes at the end. “It hurts, so I can’t be happy about it at the moment,” explained Topalovic after the award ceremony. “Perfect route to the final” Naturally, her supervisors saw it differently. National coach Juan Luis Benitez Cardenes emphasized: “Lejla controlled and dominated the final. Due to uncertainties regarding the competition time at the video protest, the fight was decided against them at the last second. What should be highlighted, however, is the perfect route to the final with a total of only three goals conceded and a win against the reigning world champion.” Sports director Christian Grüner and team manager Andreas Moser were happy for the athlete: “Lejla didn’t lose gold, she won silver.”
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