No joy for judokas
The two Swiss participants at this year's European judo championships have both suffered early exits.
In the men’s under-81 kg category, Switzerland’s former European champion Sergej Aschwanden lost both his opening bouts against Greece’s Nikos Mimos and Poland’s Robert Krawczyk.
Krawczyk’s own subsequent defeat in his next fight ensured a premature departure for the fighter from canton Vaud who last year won bronze at the world championships in Munich.
Biel’s Lena Göldi suffered a similar fate after faring badly in the tournament draw. Pitted against main favourite Isabel Fernandez in the women’s under-57 kg section, the Swiss judoka was beaten only after receiving four penalty points for inactivity.
A surprise defeat for Fernandez in her next bout against France’s Barbara Harel then put Göldi out of contention and completed a dismal day for the two Swiss.
Aschwanden and Göldi were both seen as possible medal contenders at the championships in Maribor, Slovenia. The two will at least go on to fight another day when the team event gets underway on Sunday.
swissinfo with agencies
In compliance with the JTI standards
More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.