Sanne van Dijke has won the first medal for the Netherlands at the World Judo Championships in Belgrade on Tuesday. The Brabant judoka took bronze in the weight class up to 70 kilograms.
The 29-year-old Van Dijke made the difference in the fight for bronze in the so-called golden score. The two-time European champion put her Spanish opponent Ai Tsunoda Roustant on her side after just 21 seconds in the extra time, earning a yuko. That was enough for the victory.
For Van Dijke, it is the third individual bronze World Championship medal, after she also finished third at the World Championships in 2021 and 2022. She also took home the bronze medal at the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo.
Van Dijke had to deal with a disappointment earlier in the day when she lost to Australian Aoife Coughlan in the quarterfinals. As a result, she was relegated to the repechage and could only win bronze at most.
Nevertheless, the third place is a success for Van Dijke, as she did not start the World Championships in top condition. She fell on her collarbone a few weeks ago, which then protruded a few centimeters. She therefore opted for an adjusted preparation. Last year, she also suffered from a hernia.
The Netherlands had so far experienced a disappointing World Championship. After the first four days of the tournament, the count stood at zero medals. Joanne van Lieshout disappointed on Monday with a quick elimination in the weight class up to 63 kilograms. She was the title defender in Budapest.
Earlier in the day, Mark van Dijk and Margit de Voogd could not help the Netherlands to a medal. De Voogd could not handle it in the weight class up to 70 kilograms in the second round against the Portuguese Tais Pina and Van Dijk lost in the class up to 90 kilograms in the third round against the Frenchman Maxime-Gaël Ngayap Hambou.
Frank de Wit, Noël van ‘t End and Michael Korrel are missing at the World Championships due to a suspension. In a period of twelve months, they made a mistake three times with the submission of their whereabouts. That resulted in a months-long suspension for all three of them.