The Sousse International Judo Championship featured broad participation, drawing nearly 200 athletes from various nations, including Tunisia, Italy, France, Germany, and Algeria, alongside Libya. This significant gathering of competitors gave the achievement of Libyan champion Elias Zagta a high competitive value.
This crowning achievement, secured in the 66kg category, culminates Zagta’s history of success, as he had previously won two Arab gold medals in the National Teams and Clubs championships. These accumulated accolades place him at the forefront of promising Libyan figures and qualify him as a potential future Olympic champion.
Zagta’s path to the gold highlighted his competitive strength, as he overcame Algerian Ayat Mohamed in the final bout to seize the gold. To reach the final, he had started his run by defeating Moataz Smaida (Sfaxien) in the round of 32, then bested Mohamed Fakhrawi (Etoile du Sahel) in the round of 16, overcame the Frenchman Michel in the quarter-finals, before passing Algerian Adam Bahhouh in the semi-finals.
This victory was warmly received across Libyan sports circles, where observers consider it a prominent message of hope reflecting the capability of Libyan athletes to secure tangible international successes despite the challenges they face.
