Judo is undoubtedly the most successful sport in Kosovo. Athletes representing the state flag brought us strong emotions last year as well. From the tears for Distria and Nora who climbed to the top step of the podium in Tokyo's "Ippon Budokan" hall to the tears for Majlinda Kelmendi who ended her career.

Two participations in the Olympic Games and three gold medals. Kosovo, the small country in the Balkans, conquered the international media again last summer thanks to the historic success of two judokas Distria Krasniqi and Nora Gjakova who won gold medals in the -48 kilogram and -57 kilogram category.

Rio 2016 Olympic champion Majlinda Kelmendi was unlucky at the Tokyo Games to be stopped in the first fight (second round). Immediately after that, Kelmendi would end her career with a ceremony organized by the president Vjosa Osmani who decorated the judoka with the "Shote Galica" Order.

In addition to the gold medal, Majlinda ended her career with three championship titles (two as a senior and one as a junior), four European gold medals, including the European Games Minsk 2019, a world bronze medal, and three times declared the best judoka good in the world.

Overall, 2021 brought a total of 15 medals for judo, including two Olympic golds.

Below, the chronology of the successes of the Kosovo judo team.

WORLD JUDO MASTERS

The Kosovar judo team started this historic year with competitions in the Judo Masters that took place in Doha, Qatar, where it was represented by five Kosovar judokas such as Distria Krasniqi, Majlinda Kelmendi, Nora Gjakova, Akil Gjakova and Loriana Kuka.

Of these contestants, the judoka Distria Krasniqi was decorated with the gold medal, Majlinda Kelmendi, Nora Gjakova and Loriana Kuka managed to win the bronze medal in their categories, while the judoka Akil Gjakova managed to rank seventh in his category. in men.

Distria Krasniqi – category up to 48 kilograms

Until the gold, Distria Krasniqi passed the first round without a fight, while in the second round she defeated the Slovenian judoka Marusa Stangar with Wazaari and Ippon. With Wazaari and Ippon Distria also won the fight in the quarterfinals against the Portuguese Catarina Costa.

In the semi-finals, the Kosovar judoka scored a victory with Ippon against Melanie Clement of France, while in the final, where she secured the gold medal, she defeated the Japanese Funa Tonaki with 2 Wazaari for Ippon.

Majlinda Kelmendi – category up to 52 kilograms

Judoka Majlinda Kelmendi finished the competition at the Doha Masters in Qatar with the bronze medal. In the first match, she defeated the contestant from Romania, Andreea Chitu, with three penalties for Ippon. In the second round, Kelmendi defeated the Polish Agata Perenc in continuations with Wazaari.

Kelmendi continued with victory in the quarterfinals, where she defeated the judoka from Switzerland Evelyne Tschopp, while in the semifinals she was defeated in continuation with three penalties for Ippon by the French Amandine Bouchard.

In the fight for the bronze medal, Kelmendi defeated Belgian Charline Van Snick with Wazaari and three penalties for Ippon.

Nora Gjakova – category up to 57 kilograms

Like Majlinda Kelmendi, the judoka Nora Gjakova ended this competition with a bronze medal.

In the first round, Gjakova passed without a fight, while in the second round she defeated the Serbian judoka Marica Perisic. In the quarterfinals, the Kosovar judoka defeated the French Helene Receveaux with Wazaari, while in the semifinals she was defeated by the Japanese Tsukasa Yoshida.

In the competition for the bronze medal, Nora Gjakova defeated the Portuguese judoka Telma Monteiro with Wazaari.

Loriana Kuka – category up to 73 kilograms

Judoka Loriana Kuka was also decorated with bronze medals in Doha, Qatar, where the latter competes in weights up to 73 kilograms.

In the first round, Kuka defeated the contestant from Gabon Sarah Myriam Mazouz with Ippon, while in the second round she defeated the French Audrey Tcheumeo in straight sets with three penalties for Ippon.

In the quarterfinals, the Kosovar judoka lost in straight sets with Ippon to the Japanese, Shori Hamada.

After losing in the quarterfinals, Kuka played in the repechage, where she defeated the contestant from Cuba, Kaliema Antomarchi, with Ippon.

Meanwhile, in the fight for bronze, Kuka defeated the British judoka Natalie Powell through continuations with Ippon.

Akil Gjakova – category up to 78 kilograms

At the Masters in Doha, Qatar, the only one from the Kosovar judo team was Akil Gjakova, who failed to return with a medal.

Gjakova was ranked seventh in this competition, while up to this position, in the first round he defeated with Wazaari in continuation the judoka from Tajikistan Somon Makhmadbekov.

In the second round, Gjakova defeated the Russian judoka Denis Iartcev with Ippon, while in the quarterfinals she was defeated with two Wazaari for Ippon by the judoka from Kazakhstan Zhansay Smagulov.

After losing to Smagulov, Gjakova played in the repechage where she lost by Ippon in straight sets to Uzbekistan's Khikmatillokh Turaev.

In this Masters, Kosovo grabbed four medals, one gold, three bronze and a 7th place.

The Kosovar judo team continued its adventure in this sport with competitions in the Grand Slam of Tel Aviv in Israel, where Majlinda Kelmendi, Laura Fazliu and Akil Gjakova competed there.

GRAND SLAM TEL AVIV – ISRAEL

Of these contestants, it was only Majlinda Kelmendi who managed to adorn herself with a medal, where she won the bronze in this competition, while judokas Akil Gjakova and Laura Fazliu did not manage to pass beyond the second round.

Majlinda Kelmendi – category up to 52 kilograms

Kelmendi passed the first round without a fight, while in the second round she defeated with Wazaari and three punishments for Ippon judoka from Germany Annika Wurfel.

In the quarterfinals, the Kosovar judoka defeated the Russian Alesya Kuznetsova with Ippon, while in the semifinals she was defeated with Ippon in continuation by the Englishwoman Chelsie Giles.

Majlinda for the bronze medal did not face the Belgian competitor Charline Van Snick, as the latter was injured in the preliminary match and did not appear on the mat.

Akil Gjakova – category up to 73 kilograms

In the first match, Akil Gjakova defeated the Portuguese competitor Joao Fernando with Ippon, while in the second match, he suffered a consecutive defeat by the Italian judoka Giovanni Esposito.

Laura Fazliu – category up to 63 kilograms

The Kosovar judoka Laura Fazliu started this competition without a fight in the first round, as her opponent Habibe Afyonlu from Turkey did not appear on the mat. In the second round, Fazliu did not manage to score a victory, as he was defeated by the British Renshall Lucy.

The Kosovar team ended the competitions at the Tel Aviv Grand Slam with only one medal won, the bronze one from judoka Majlinda Kelmendi.

After these two competitions, the Kosovar judo team continued with success in the Grand Slam of Tbilisi, which took place in Georgia, where four competitors from Kosovo participated, such as Nora Gjakova, Akil Gjakova, Laura Fazliu and Loriana Kuka.

GRAND SLAM TBILISI – GEORGIA

Of these contestants, the judoka Nora Gjakova managed to whiten the face of Kosovo by winning the gold medal, Akil Gjakova took fifth place, Laura Fazliu was ranked seventh, while Loriana Kuka failed to continue the competition after being eliminated in the first round second.

Nora Gjakova – category up to 57 kilograms

On the way to the gold medal, Gjakova passed the first round without a fight, while in the second round she defeated the Ukrainian Mariia Skora with Ippon. In the third round, also with Ippon, Gjakova defeated Austrian judoka Sabrina Filzmoser.

In the quarterfinals, the Kosovar judoka defeated the Serbian Marica Perisic with 3 penalties for Ippon, the same as she defeated the Slovenian Kaja Kajzer in the semifinals.

Gjakova secured the gold medal by defeating Georgian judoka Eteri Liparteliani in the final with Wazaari.

Akil Gjakova – category up to 73 kilograms

Georgia's Akil Gjakova finished the Tbilisi Grand Slam in fifth place.

In the first round, Gjakova won with three penalties for Ippon against the judoka from the Philippines Keisei Nakano, while in the second round, she also defeated Montenegrin Marko Gusic with three penalties for Ippon.

In the quarterfinals, Akili defeated the Armenian Ferdinand Karapetian with Wazaari, while in the semifinals he was defeated by the Mongolian judoka Tsogtbaatar Tsend-Ochir.

In the fight for the bronze medal, Gjakova was defeated by Georgian judoka Lasha Shavdatuashvili, thus ranking fifth in the competition.

Laura Fazliu – category up to 63 kilograms

Judoka Laura Fazliu finished this competition in seventh place.

In the first match, Fazliu won with Wazaari and 3 penalties for Ippon against the contestant from Austria, Magdalena Krssakova. In the second match, the Kosovar judoka defeated the Spanish Isabel Puche with Wazaari.

In the quarterfinals, Laura was defeated by Ippon in straight sets by Chinese judoka Junxia Yang. After this loss, Fazliu was qualified to compete in the rematch where he lost against the contestant from Great Britain, Lucy Renshall, thus finishing 7th.

Loriana Kuka – category up to 78 kilograms

Kosovar judoka Loriana Kuka finished the competition in the Grand Slam of Tbilisi already in the second round.

Kuka ended the first round without a fight, while in the second round she was defeated by the Israeli judoka Inbar Lanir.

Kosovo's successes did not stop at the Tbilisi Grand Slam, where the Kosovar judo team continued with medals at the European Championship in Lisbon, Portugal, which took place on April 16 to 18.

EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP OF LISBON, PORTUGAL

In this European competition, Kosovo was represented by Distria Krasniqi, Nora Gjakova, Flaka Loxha, Akil Gjakova, Laura Fazliu and Loriana Kuka, from whom she managed to collect two gold medals, one bronze medal and two fifth places.

Distria Krasniqi and Akil Gjakova were the two judokas who brought gold medals to Kosovo in this competition, Nora Gjakova brought a bronze medal, Laura Fazliu and Loriana Kuka were ranked fifth in their categories, while Flaka Loxha was eliminated already in the first lap.

Distria Krasniqi – category up to 48 kilograms

Distria Krasniqi won four games in total, where in the first round she was free, while in the first game she won with three penalties for Ippon against the competitor from Italy, Francesca Giorda.

In the quarterfinals, Krasniqi defeated the Israeli judoka Shira Rishony with Ippon, while in the semifinals he defeated the Russian Sabina Giliazova with three penalties for Ippon.

Distria Krasniqi secured the gold without a fight, since the judoka from Ukraine Daria Bilodid did not appear in the tatami final.

Nora Gjakova – category up to 57 kilograms

Kosovar judoka Nora Gjakova started the race to the bronze medal without a fight in the first round, while in the second she defeated the Spaniard Carla Mascaro Ubasart with Ippon.

In the quarterfinals, Gjakova defeated Russian judoka Daria Mezhetskaia with Ippon, while in the semifinals, she lost with Ippon in continuation from the Portuguese Telma Monteiro.

In the last competition for the bronze medal, Gjakova defeated Georgian competitor Eteri Liparteliani with Ippon.

Flaka Loxha – category up to 57 kilograms

Flaka Loxha was the first judoka from the Kosovar team who ended this competition in the first round.

Loxha in the category up to 57 kilograms, in the first round was defeated with Wazaari by the judoka from Slovenia Kaja Kajzer.

Akil Gjakova – category up to 73 kilograms

Akil Gjakova was declared European Champion at the European Championship in Lisbon, Portugal.

On his way to the gold medal, Gjakova was free in the first round, and in his first match he won by Ippon against the Israeli Ido Levin. In the second match, Gjakova also defeated the German competitor, Anthony Zingg, with Ippon.

Akili defeated the Russian Musa Mogushkov with three penalties for Ippon in the quarterfinals, while in the semifinals he defeated the Swiss Nils Stump with Ippon.

In the last fight for the gold medal, Akili defeated Israeli judoka Tohar Butbull with Wazaari.

Laura Fazliu – category up to 63 kilograms

Laura Fazliu was ranked fifth in this competition, where in the first match she defeated the German Dena Pohl with Ippon. In the second round, she defeated Dutch judoka Juul Franssen with Wazaari.

In the quarterfinals, Fazliu lost with Wazaari in the continuation against the Russian Daria Davydova, while in the repechage stage he defeated the Italian Maria Centraçhio with three penalties for Ippon.

For the bronze medal, Fazliu lost by Ippon against the Dutchwoman, Sanne Vermeer, and thus ranked 5th.

Loriana Kuka – category up to 78 kilograms

Also, like Laura Fazliu, the judoka Loriana Kuka managed to grab the fifth position in this European.

Kuka was free in the first round, while in the first match she defeated Ukrainian Anastasiya Turchyn with Ippon. In the quarterfinals, Kuka defeated the competitor from Austria, Bernadette Graf, with Ippon.

In the semi-finals, Loriana lost by Ippon in continuation to the Dutchman, Guusje Steenhuis, while for the bronze, she lost by Ippon against the French Estelle Fanny Posvite.

In this Championship, Kosovo ranked first, with two gold medals from Distria Krasniqi and Akil Gjakova, one bronze from Nora Gjakova and two 5th places from Loriana Kuka and Laura Fazliu.

After the Lisbon European Championship, followed the European Open in Zagreb, Croatia.

EUROPEAN OPEN (WORLD CUP) ZAGREB – CROATIA

This competition took place on May 1 and 2 this year, where Kosovo was represented by six judokas.

Among the 473 contestants from around the world were Erza Muminović, Flaka Loxha, Fationa Kasapi, Laura Fazliu, Arbër Kullashi and Shpati Zekaj.

Laura Fazliu – category up to 63 kilograms

In this competition, Laura Fazliu was free in the first round, while in the first match she won with Wazaari and Ippon against the Croatian, Ivana Mandaric. In the second match, she also defeated the competitor from the Netherlands, Nadiah Krachten, with Ippon.

In the quarter-finals, Fazliu defeated the competitor from Ukraine, Yuliia Hrebenozhko, with Ippon in continuation, while in the semi-finals, she lost with Ippon from the local competitor, Croatian Iva Oberan.

Laura defeated Michaela Kulikova with Ippon for bronze.

Erza Muminović – category up to 52 kilograms

Erza Muminovic was ranked 7th, where in the first match she defeated the Spanish Patricia Martin Gallardo with Ippon. In the second match, Muminovic defeated Romanian Elena Stere with Wazaari and Ippon.

In the quarterfinals, Muminovic lost by Ippon to the judoka from Italy, Kenya Perna, and after that loss she qualified to fight in the rematch, where she lost with three penalties for Ippon to the competitor of Israel, Yardeen Raab.

Flaka Loxha – category up to 57 kilograms

Like Erza Muminović, Flaka Loxha also took the seventh position in this competition.

She was free in the first round, and in the first match she defeated the British Stephanie Walker with Ippon. In the second match, Loxha defeated the Polish Daniela Badura with Ippon.

In the quarterfinals, she lost with Wazaari to the Dutch contestant, Pleuni Cornelisse, while in the rematch she lost in straight sets with three penalties for Ippon, to the Portuguese Wilsa Gomes.

Fationa Kasapi - category up to 57 kilograms

In the first round, Fationa Kasapi was free, while in the first match she defeated the Austrian Julia Sommer with Ippon. In the second match, she lost to Wazaari from Poland's Arleta Podolak and did not continue.

Shpati Zekaj – category up to 100 kilograms

In this world cup, the judoka Shpati Zekaj in the first match defeated the Czech Matej Slivestr with three penalties for Ippon. In the second match, he also defeated the competitor from Switzerland, Daniel Eich, with three penalties for Ippon.

In the quarterfinals, Zekaj defeated the Hungarian competitor Veg Zsombor with Ippon, while in the semifinals he scored a victory against the local competitor, the Croatian Marko Kumric.

In the final, Shpati Zekaj was defeated by the Ukrainian Anton Savytskiy, thus securing the silver medal in this competition.

Arbër Kullashi – category up to 81 kilograms

The competitions for Kosovar judoka Arbër Kullashi in this world cup ended already in the first round.

Kullashi lost by Ippon in the first match against the competitor from Austria, Sebastian Dengg.

Kosovo finished this competition with a silver from Shpati Zekaj, a bronze from Laura Fazliu, and two seventh places from Flaka Loxha and Erza Muminović. The Kosovar judo team continued with international competitions, where they participated in the World Championship, which took place in Budapest, Hungary.

This World Cup took place from June 6 to 13.

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP IN BUDAPEST, HUNGARY

Five continents, 118 countries, 665 contestants, 387 men, 278 women participated in this Championship, where Kosovo was represented by Distria Krasniqi, Nora Gjakova, Flaka Loxha, Akil Gjakova and Laura Fazliu.

The only medal in this competition was won by Nora Gjakova, who managed to win the bronze medal.

Distria Krasniqi – category up to 48 kilograms

Kosovar judoka Distria Krasniqi managed to take the fifth place in this Championship.

In the first round, Krasniqi won with Ippon after the local contestant, the Hungarian Eva Czernovicki, did not appear on the mat. In the second round, the Kosovar judoka defeated the Russian Sabina Giliazova with Wazaari in continuation.

In the quarterfinals, Krasniqi defeated the competitor from Spain Laura Abelenda Martinez with Wazaari and Ippon, while in the semifinals she was defeated with Ippon by the Japanese Natsumi Tsunoda.

After this loss she qualified to compete for the bronze medal, where she lost on three Ippon penalties against Mongolia's Urantsetseg Munkhbat.

Nora Gjakova – category up to 57 kilograms

Nora Gjakova managed to win the bronze medal at the World Judo Championship in Budapest.

In the first match, Nora won with Ippon against the Polish Julia Kowalczyk, while in the second match, Gjakova defeated the contestant from the Netherlands Sanne Verhagen with Wazaari in continuation.

In the quarterfinals, she defeated the Russian Anastasiia Konkina with Ippon, while in the semifinals she lost with Wazaari and Ippon from the Canadian competitor, Jessica Klimkait.

After this loss, she qualified to compete for the bronze medal where she defeated Serbian Marica Perisic with Wazaari.

Flaka Loxha – category up to 57 kilograms

In this competition, Flaka Loxha in the first match defeated the competitor from New Zealand, Justine Bishop, with Ippon.

In the second match, Loxha met the Canadian Christa Deguchi, where she lost to Ippon and did not continue.

Akil Gjakova – category up to 73 kilograms

The judoka Akil Gjakova passed the first round of this competition without a fight, while in the first match he defeated the Egyptian Mohamed Mohyeldi with Ippon.

Gjakova in the second match lost in three penalty kicks for Ippon against the Italian competitor Giovanni Esposito and did not continue further.

Laura Fazliu – category up to 63 kilograms

Judoka Laura Fazliu ended this competition immediately after her first match.

Fazliu passed the first round without a fight, while in the second round he was defeated by Brazilian judoka Ketleyn Quadros and did not continue.

This World Championship that was held in Budapest, Hungary, the Kosovar judo team ended with only one medal won, the bronze one by judoka Nora Gjakova.

After these competitions where Kosovo was well represented by the Kosovar judo team, in June a new page in the history of Kosovo in this sport began to be written.

On June 23, the opening ceremony and parade of the countries participating in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games was held, where the Kosovo flag was carried by the then Olympic Champion Majlinda Kelmendi and the European Champion Akil Gjakova.

The first Olympic gold medal for Kosovo had come through Majlinda Kelmendi, who had triumphed in the category up to 52 kilograms at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

Meanwhile, in Tokyo 2020, Kosovo received the second Olympic gold medal through Distria Krasniqi in the category up to 48 kilograms, while judoka Nora Gjakova in the category up to 57 kilograms managed to join Majlinda Kelmendi and Distria Krasniqi, bringing Kosovo the medal third Olympic gold.

TOKYO 2020 OLYMPIC GAMES

In LO Tokyo 2020, Kosovo was represented by 11 athletes, among them five with standards from the sport of judo.

Distria Krasniqi, Majlinda Kelmendi, Nora Gjakova, Akil Gjakova and Loriana Kuka represented our country in this Olympics, where they managed to make history.

Distria Krasniqi – category up to 48 kilograms

LO Tokio 2020 Distria Krasniqi started it in the best way, just as it ended it.

Krasniqi was free in the first round, while in the second round she defeated the Brazilian Gabriela Chibana with Ippon, while in the quarterfinals she also defeated the Chinese from Taipei Chen-Hao Lin with Ippon.

In the semi-finals, Kransiqi defeated the Mongolian Urantsetseg Munkhbat with Wazaari.

In the final, Distria defeated the Japanese Funa Tonaki with Wazaari, where she was awarded the title of Olympic Champion, the second time for Kosovo, again from the sport of judo.

Nora Gjakova – category up to 57 kilograms

Nora Gjakova was the judoka who completed Kosovo's "Hat-trick" with Olympic gold medals.

Nora was free in the first round, and in the second round she defeated Dutch Sanne Verhagen with Wazaari.

In the quarterfinals, she defeated the Slovenian Kaja Kajzer with Wazaari and Ippon, while in the semifinals, Gjakova defeated the Japanese World Champion in 2018, Yoshida Tsukasa, with Wazaari.

In the final, Gjakova defeated the French Sarah Leonie Cysique with Ippon, to be decorated with a gold medal.

Akil Gjakova – category up to 73 kilograms

Compared to his sister Nora, judoka Akil Gjakova was ranked seventh in this Olympics.

Akili in the first round defeated with Ippon the competitor from Yemen Ahmed Ayash, while in the second round he defeated with Wazaari and Ippon the Swiss Nils Stump.

In the third round, he defeated Swede Tommy Macias with Wazaari, while Gjakova lost with Wazaari in the quarterfinals, against the contestant from Mongolia Tsogtbaatar Tsend-Ochir.

After this loss, Gjakova qualified to play in the repechage where she lost with Wazaari against the contestant from Azerbaijan Rustam Orujov, to finish 7th.

Majlinda Kelmendi – category up to 52 kilograms

Kosovo's first Olympic champion, Majlinda Kelmendi, who was decorated with the gold medal at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, failed to achieve the same success at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

Kelmendi was eliminated already in the first round of this Olympiad, where he lost to Wazaari from the Hungarian Reka Pupp.

Loriana Kuka – category up to 78 kilograms

Like Majlinda Kelmendi, luck was not on Loriana Kuka's side in these LO Tokyo 2020.

Kuka passed the first round without a fight, while in the second round the Kosovar judoka was defeated by the Russian judoka Aleksandra Babintseva.

With two gold medals at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, Kosovo ranked ahead of many different European countries such as France, Germany, Austria, Slovenia and Russia in the ranking with the most gold medals won at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

The arrival of the Olympic Judo Team in Kosovo took place with a state ceremony in the presence of Prime Minister Albin Kurti, where two Olympic medals landed in the Dardanelles state.

With these achievements at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, the Olympic Champions, Distria Krasniqi and Nora Gjakova, together with their coach Driton Kuka, were decorated with the highest decoration of our Mother State "Honour of the Nation" by the President of Albania Ilir Meta.

Judo in Kosovo continued its development with very positive results, where during this year the National Judo Center was inaugurated in Peja.

During this inauguration, the two Olympic Champions, Nora Gjakova and Distria Krasniqi, were decorated with the "Honour of the Nation" award by President Vjosa Osmani, where Distria also received the Presidential medal.

The president of the International Judo Federation Marius Vizer decorated the three Olympic medalists with the statue of the founder of judo Jigoro Kano, and Agron and Driton Kuka with gold medals, which is the highest award of the International Judo Federation.

But, after these fantastic moments and memories from the Kosovar judo team, came a bitter news for the state of Kosovo.

Judoka and Olympic champion in Rio 2016 Majlinda Kelmendi decided to end her career and retire.

The International Judo Federation (IJF) also reacted to this case.

"She challenged the whole continent and the whole world and she also revived the Olympic movement and she did it quietly. Always just working hard to be the best athlete she can be, never looking for media attention but just working.

She felt the responsibility to shine her country with happiness, never leaving it in the mud and we have seen it clearly, time after time. She doesn't just fight for Majlinda or her team, she fights for Kosovo, knowing that her achievements will open doors for other girls, young judokas to believe in the beauty of possibility.

We wish her all the best and continued success in her future", was the reaction of the IJF.

Judoka and Olympic gold medalist Distria Krasniqi, who competed in the Grand Slam of Baku in Azerbaijan, closed the year 2021 in the sport of judo with competitions.

GRAND SLAM BAKU – AZERBAIJAN

5 continents, 29 countries, 196 contestants, 129 men and 67 women participated in this competition. Kosovo was represented alone by Distria Krasniqi.

Distria Krasniqi – category up to 52 kilograms

In the first match, Krasniqi defeated the Japanese Nanako Tsubone with Wazaari, while in the quarterfinals, she lost in continuation with Ippon to the Hungarian Reka Pupp.

After this loss, she qualified to compete in the repechage where she defeated the Belgian Amber Ryheul with Ippon.

Distria for the bronze lost in a straight-set Ippon match against the competitor from Russia, Anastasia Polikarpova, and thus ranked 5th in this Grand Slam.

After the judo competitions officially ended, on December 5th, the "EJU GALA DINNER 2021" was held, where our Tokyo 2020 Olympic champions Distria Krasniqi and Nora Gjakova were awarded with a decoration by the European Judo Federation for the result achieved in The Olympic Games.

The Judo Federation of Kosovo was also awarded with a decoration for the medals won at the Olympic Games.

On December 6, the HEROINE OF KOSOVO MAJLINDA KELMENDI, our golden judoka, ends her career as an active athlete to continue her career as a coach.

As the host in this ceremony, President Osmani expressed her heartfelt gratitude to the multiple judo champion Majlinda Kelmendi and awarded her the "Shotë Galica" Order, which is given to people who have advocated or done deeds or acts of courage.

Also, Majlinda Kelmendi's coach, Driton Kuka, also spoke on this occasion.

"You made me proud, you made your family proud, you made a Majlinda Nation proud. The pleasure when Majlinda conquered Russia, Brazil and other countries that did not accept the reality called Kosovo. I will be grateful until my last breath, Majlinda", said Driton Kuka.

Meanwhile, Majlinda Kelmendi said that from now on she will pass on her knowledge and experience to the new generations, after her retirement as an active athlete. She thanked the coach and the team.

 "A very big thank you to my country, to my people, for being my inspiration. It was a great honor and privilege for me to represent Kosovo", she said through tears.

After all these events, where judo raised Kosovo to the top of the world, the "icing on the cake" were the awards of the best in the world for this year.

DRITON KUKA – BEST COACH IN THE WORLD FOR 2021

Driton Kuka has been declared the best coach in the world by the World Judo Federation for 2021. Kuka this year as a coach won two Olympic gold medals at LO Tokyo 2020.

The successes that Kuka has achieved with his judokas are unimaginable, where as a coach he has many European, world and Olympic medals in his collection and every word about him is redundant.

DISTRIA KRASNIQI – THE BEST JUDICATURE OF 2021

On the other hand, Olympic Champion Distria Krasniqi has been declared the best judoka in the world by the World Judo Federation for 2021. This year Krasniqi achieved the greatest success in her career as an athlete, the gold at LO Tokyo 2020.

In the past, Distria was European champion, world medalist and winner of three Masters competitions.

"I am very happy and proud to have finished this year as an Olympic champion and number one in the world rankings, it is a great feeling that the hard work has finally paid off", were the words of Distria Krasniqi.

The year 2021, despite the pandemic situation with Covid-19 which hit the whole world, will be remembered as one of the best and most successful years in the history of our state, where the flag and the anthem of Kosovo were raised and heard on many world podiums from the Kosovar judo team.