Injuries nag obligatory Hungarian Championships

Although the usual suspects won gold medals at the recently contested Hungarian Championships, several new victors stepped onto the podium in the absence of some of the country’s top athletes, many of whom are dealing with injuries.

In Kecskemét, an impressive Abigél Joó (U78kg) won her ninth national senior title. Her most recent Hungarian Championship gold came in October of last year. However, due to the selection process for the upcoming World Championships, which will be held in Budapest in August, this year’s event was scheduled just three months after it was last contested. Not every athlete was happy with the fast turnaround for the competition.

Absent from the event were world number eights Éva Csernoviczki and Barna Bor, who was injured last week. Still recovering from recent surgeries, teammates Szabolcs Krizsán and Hedvig Karakas also sat out, as did Réka Pupp when she became ill on Friday before the tournament. Instead, in the U48kg class, Lilla Erdélyi took the opportunity to capture her first gold.

Other first time winners included Emőke Knetig (U52kg) and Kitti Kovács at U57kg, the category where Karakas would have participated. Nora Szilli was victorious in the U63kg class, followed by the U23 European champion, Szabina Gercsák, winning her third national title. The +78kg champion was Mercédesz Szigetvári.

László Burján (U60kg) and László Csoknyai (U81kg) received a seventh and a fifth national senior title, respectively. Csaba Szabó prevailed over Martin Végvári at 66kg, while in the U73kg class, in which a favored Miki Ungvári was absent, Frigyes Szabó took the top podium position. Gábor Vér celebrated the U90kg title in the category previously dominated by Krisztián Tóth; Tóth also recently underwent surgery. Vér and Miklós Cirjenics (U100kg) won their second titles. In Bor’s absence, Bendegúz Demeter won the heavyweight title.

The obligatory factor of the Hungarian Championships will have little consequence in the end, with or without the majority of top competitors. The selection for this year's World Championships will evolve during the year through other major events.