Greece’s hopes of having yet another representative at the upcoming Olympic Games have skyrocketed, after young gun Elisavet Teltsidou’s success at the recent Judo Grand Prix in Uzbekistan.

The 23-year-old has been on a roll recently, winning one medal after another, with this being her second gold in the span of less than half a year. She had previously come out as winner in the Antalya Grand Prix, and also won bronze in Budapest in July and Marrakesh in March.

Teltsidou was able to advance to the final of the competition in Tashkent after beating Australian Aoife Coughlan in the first round and Dutch Hilde Jager in the semis.

She then came up against the heavy favourite, Gulnoza Matniyazova from Uzbekistan who, beside all else, had the support of the home crowd.

But that didn’t seem to affect Teltsidou in the slightest, going on to beat her opponent with two throws that awarded her a waza-ari and an ippon, the highest points a fighter can win in a judo match.

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After the game, the youngster took to social media to express her gratitude for her success which, as she pointed out, had even greater significance due to the fact that it was accomplished at her parent’s birthplace (Tashkent). She dedicated the win to all the Pontian Greeks.

“I could only feel honour and pride for managing to have my country’s national anthem heard in Tashkent, a place that is very close to where most of the parents of the Pontian Greeks were born, as were mine, and where both their own parents were chased out during the genocide of Asia Minor,” wrote the 23-year-old.

Teltsidou has also won medals at the European Junior Championships and U23 Championships, and with her ratings constantly on the rise she has great chances of qualifying for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.

Grand Prix , Tashkent 2019 ! 🥇 🇬🇷 Μόνο δέος και υπερηφάνεια θα μπορούσα να νιώθω που κατάφερα να ακουστεί ο Εθνικός Ύμνος της χώρας μου στη Τασκένδη , ένα μέρος κοντινό στα μέρει εκείνα όπου γεννήθηκαν οι γονείς των περισσότερων Ελλήνων του Πόντου, όπως και οι γονείς μου, όπου και οι δυο τους γονείς είναι Έλληνες του Πόντου που διώχθηκαν στην γενοκτονία του Ποντιακού Ελληνισμού στην Μικρά Ασία !

Posted by Elisavet Teltsidou on Saturday, 21 September 2019