Reka Pupp most successful U52kg judoka Hungary has ever produced

Facing an Olympic and double World Champion for your first match is always a daunting thing. That’s exactly the situation Hungary’s Reka Pupp found herself to be in at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, where she was drawn against Kosovo’s legendary Majlinda Kelmendi. But Pupp rose to the occasion and through a mixture of clever strategic play and sheer grit, she managed to beat the odds throwing Kelmendi by ko-uchi gake.

Pupp would eventually fight for bronze, and although she lost to Italy's Odette Giuffrida, her good performance against Kelmendi signaled the arrival of a rising star in the U52kg division.

Right after Tokyo, she won her first IJF World Tour gold medal at the 2021 Baku Grand Slam. Interestingly, it was also another Kosovan Olympic champion whom she met in the first round of that competition: Distria Krasniqi, who had just moved back up to U52kg. Pupp impressively won that match by ippon.

In the 2022 Tel Aviv Grand Slam, Pupp lost in the semifinal to Ryoko Takeda of Japan after a long, drawn-out match that went into Golden Score. She finished the competition with a creditable but ultimately disappointing bronze medal.

Pupp bounced right back at the recent 2022 Antalya Grand Slam where she displayed excellent throwing and groundwork skills from start til end, winning herself her second Grand Slam gold medal.

Pupp: “During the first 2 minutes of the fight I was a bit lower than my opponent. But once I’ve found my grip I could try a Uchi Mata and I said to myself, okay it is going to be fine. I’ve scored a waza ari on a Uchi Mata and then I knew I was stronger than the Uzbek girl and I did O-Soto or something like that, I don’t remember well but I was happy to be able to end that fight”.

Coached by 2005 World Champion Akos Braun, this 25-year-old is already the most successful U52kg player Hungary has ever produced. She claimed nine IJF World Judo Tour medals including gold in Baku and Antalya. With nine, only three Hungarian women performed better in the World Tour: Éva Csernoviczki (17 medals), Abigel Joo (22 medals) and Hedvig Karakas (26 medals).

This category is a tough one with many top contenders like Uta Abe, Amandine Buchard and Distria Krasniqi. Now, Pupp can count herself among them (she is currently ranked No. 2, just behind Buchard).