Budapest – Judoka David Klammert stunned last European Championship silver medalist and world number two Axel Clerget of France at the World Championships in Budapest. Next, however, she lost unluckily to Georgia’s Ušangi Margiani in the round of 16, and in her World Championships debut, she finished ninth in the up to 90 kilograms weight category.

Twenty-three year old Klammert got a free draw in the first round. In the second round, he challenged world number 150 judoka Mihailo Marchitan of the United Arab Emirates and beat him despite initially struggling. After the opponent’s attack, Klammert had to strain his injured ribs in a fall and spin to prevent Marchitan from scoring. Then he waited for Sok’s mistake, got on his body and put Marchitan on his back after turning around.

He was a great outsider against the favored Frenchmen in the third round but his confidence was boosted by a surprise win over Clerget in the team competition at this year’s European Championships. And even on the tatami, he showed that he was not afraid of his opponent. He was more active from the start, forcing France into two penalties and eventually succeeding in one of the strikes scored by Wazari. He won one of the biggest wins of his so far short career.

“He’s an amazing judoka and the only thing I could do against him was cut him to the max. And that’s what I did. I didn’t let him do anything, I forced him to make mistakes and I was fought back,” said Klammert in an interview with Czech journalists in Budapest. “I fulfilled the tactical plan that we made with the coach to the letter, and it turns out that even the world number two can be beaten,” he added.

In the round of 16, she met world number 19 Margiani and again showed excellent tactical performance, trying to counterattack. But 15 seconds from the end, he let his opponent get the wazari and didn’t have time to answer.

By sharing ninth place, Klammert equaled Ivan Petr’s results of up to 81 kilograms. Only Pavel Petřikov, who took fifth place in the weight category up to 60 kg, did better in the championship.