Frank de Wit has been eliminated at the judo world championships in Doha. The judoka from Heemskerk found his Waterloo in the second round after a defeat against the Austrian Wachid Borchashvili.
The 27-year-old De Wit, who competes in the class up to 81 kilograms, won in the first round after a tough match against Nugzari Tatalashvili from the United Arab Emirates. De Wit eventually won this game in extra time after a third penalty from his opponent.
In the second round, Borchashvili turned out to be too strong for the number three of the World Cup in 2021. De Wit eventually lost on ippon after he was thrown on his side.
Quick punishments
“I had my back against the wall because of those quick punishments,” De Wit says afterwards in front of the NOS camera. “After that I had to weigh everything up for fear of another penalty. It became a bit of a prize shootout. I knew I was going to fight a lot of tough matches, but I was pretty good conditionally. Because of those two penalties I was no longer comfortable on the mat.”