26 Feb. 2017 – Nacif Elias, the most prominent Lebanese judoka, was taking part in the judo Grand Prix held this month in Dusseldorf, Germany.
Unlike Rio2016, Nacif was competing in the -90 kg category and not -81. He had previously admitted that he wasn’t prepared well enough and that he still needed to work on speed and physical condition. But despite that, and in his first game, Nacif was able to overcome the silver medalist of the 2016 Rio Olympic games Tiago Camilio.
However, his lack of physical preparation eventually caught up with him and he couldn’t defeat his Spanish opponent, Nikoloz Sherazadishviki, in the second round. He lost in the golden score. Nacif was one game short of a potential bronze medal but he won’t give up that easily. In fact, he declared that he would win a medal at a grand prix, a grand slam and a word cup this year.
Hard luck Nacif and better luck next time!
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