Photo: Martin Machala / Tamara Kočicová was the only one from the expedition to take home a medal.
Judoka Tamara Kočicová from JUDO Uherský Brod took care of the club’s only medal at the Czech Cup in Ostrava, where 1,300 judokas were “washed” on the grandiose eight tatami. The performance bar of one of the most difficult domestic competitions was raised even further by the strong international participation, which filled all age categories to bursting.
The people of Brod sent to the north of Moravia representatives from the ranks of the older youth and youth, for whom precious metals were harder to reach than usual. They thus won the only medal that hung around the neck of the older student Kočicová.
“At the same time, Tamča cut the race more like a test, but after the initial nervousness of the premiere at such a large and well-attended tournament, she went through the spider with incredible confidence. She always beat her opponents with beautiful throws before the time limit,” smiled Josef Berka, coach of Uherské Brod. At the same time, Kočicová was not thrown off even by a semi-final injury. “She complained of intense hand pain, so we considered her final start a lot. However, the sight of the first cup gold of his career was stronger than the pain. The reward for her self-denial was a gold medal,” added Berka, adding that the coaches only found out later that she was fighting with a broken bone in her hand. The injury thus eliminated her from the subsequent training camp, where she was supposed to prepare intensively for the upcoming season.
The club from Olšava experienced one more medal joy. Coach Martin Mentzl took the silver medal in the men’s category. “He showed the racing group, which he helps us train and prepare for tournaments, that he is not just a training theorist, but has something to pass on to his clients. He scored six wins and one defeat,” revealed Kateřina Krahulová, another of Brod’s coaches.
