The first medal after the injury: Bilodid wins bronze at Grand Slam tournament in Baku
Ukraine's judo team has won its first medal at the Grand Slam tournament in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. Daria Bilodid won the bronze medal.
The 23-year-old Ukrainian judoka won a medal in the weight category of up to 57 kilograms.
Bilodid started the competition with victories over Maria Escano from Guam and Finland's Pihla Salonen. In the quarterfinals, Daria lost to two-time world champion Christy Deguchi from Canada.
The Ukrainian got the opportunity to compete for bronze in the consolation bouts. There, Bilodid defeated Maysa Pardaeva from Turkmenistan, and then in the bronze medal final she defeated Julie Burskens of the Netherlands with an armbar.
It should be noted that it was Daria's first competition after a long break, as she had not competed for six months due to a back injury.
In total, this is Bilodid's eighth award at the Grand Slam tournaments and the second after moving up to the 57 kg weight category. In total, the Ukrainian has four gold, one silver and three bronze medals.
Earlier, Daria competed in the 48 kg weight category, where she won a bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.