Natalie Powell reigned supreme at the Judo Tel Aviv Grand Prix as she toppled Bernadette Graf to claim gold in the -78kg category.
World number nine Powell was in ruthless form in the final, ending her week in Israel in style to pick up valuable Olympic qualification points ahead of the Tokyo Games this year. The 2017 World Championships bronze medallist safely navigated her way through all five contests to clinch the ultimate prize in Israel, winning her pool before completing an unerring display in the knockout stages. The 29-year-old triumphed in Pool D of the competition after victories over Unelle Snyman, Giorgia Stangherlin and Aleksandra Babintseva, booking her place in the semi-finals against Pool C winner Luise Malzahn. And Powell continued her dominance in the last four with a convincing victory over the German, before easing past Graf in the final to improve on her second-place finish at the Brasilia Grand Slam in 2019. It marked a first major triumph for her since the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam back in 2017, starting 2020 in dominant fashion following two bronze medals at the Tashkent and Budapest Grand Prix at the end of last year. Powell’s next competition will be the Rabat Grand Prix in Morocco in March, where she will vie to extend her hegemony on the mat with Tokyo looming. Sportsbeat 2020