It was a remarkable day for the Israeli delegation at the World Games in Chengdu, China, highlighted by a gold medal for Shaked Nisimian, a bronze for Nili Block, and three guaranteed additional medals from Yulia Sachkov, Judah Osayed, and Polina Grossman.
Nisimian delivered a dominant performance in the women’s combat sambo final in the up-to-72kg category. She came out aggressively, scoring five points in the opening minute with impressive throws, quickly taking a 5-0 lead over Mongolia’s Anujin Oron-Ulzii.
Just over three minutes into the match, Nisimian forced her opponent to submit, sealing the gold medal.
Her path to the top of the podium began with a commanding 9-0 quarterfinal victory over a Mexican opponent. In the semifinals, she faced Uzbekistan’s Aroozkhan Kensari, applying pressure from the start but falling behind 1-0 after a counterattack.
Nisimian kept pressing and tied the score 1-1 with an attacking move that included a kick sending her opponent to the mat with 1:16 left on the clock. Both fighters scored one more point before Nisimian ultimately prevailed to advance to the final.
In the same discipline, Block secured a bronze medal under unusual circumstances. She was set to face Kazakhstan’s Ainur Ekzigitova in the bronze medal match, but her opponent was barred from competing due to a serious eye injury and a suspected broken nose.
The incident followed an earlier quarterfinal in which another athlete had withdrawn, citing illness amid unfounded political accusations, making Block’s medal-winning path particularly bizarre.
Block’s day began with a semifinal loss to Russia’s Sofia Istomina, who controlled the match on the ground and won 8-0 with strong throws, sending the Israeli fighter into the contest for bronze before her opponent’s withdrawal handed her the medal.
Kickboxing semifinal victory
In kickboxing, Sachkov (up-to-52kg) delivered a thrilling semifinal victory over Ukraine’s Darina Ivanova, the world’s third-ranked fighter. After taking a 1-0 lead in the first round, Sachkov saw Ivanova pull even in the second. But the Israeli dominated the third round, regaining the lead and winning 3-0 to book her place in the gold medal match, guaranteeing Israel its first-ever World Games kickboxing medal.
She won’t be alone in the finals. Osayed (up-to-75kg) followed with a strong 3-0 semifinal victory over American Anthony Schleicher, controlling the ring throughout all three rounds. Immediately after, Grossman (up-to-70kg) produced an equally commanding performance, defeating Serbia’s Aleksandra Kristic 3-0 after taking the lead early and never looking back.
All three kickboxing finals are set for tomorrow, with more medals certain for the Israeli team.
Arik Kaplan, head of the Israeli delegation to the World Games and president of Israel’s Non-Olympic Sports Federation (Ayelet), praised the achievements:
“Another amazing day with incredible results that once again show the outstanding athletes we have in Israel, especially in non-Olympic sports. Much of this success comes from years of professional work by the Ayelet Federation and our associations. Kudos to the coaches and all the teams – this is a pride that words can’t describe.”