By ALLON SINAIzeevi loser 224.88(photo credit: AP [file])
Arik Ze'evi came up just short of claiming his eighth career European Judo Championship medal on Sunday, losing in the repechage final to Daniel Brata in Tbilisi, Georgia.
The 32-year-old, a former three-time European champion, who took the bronze medal in the last two championships, lost his quarterfinal fight to eventual winner Tagir Khaibulaev, but defeated Germany's Dimitri Peters in his first battle in the repecahge to move within one victory of the bronze medal.
However, he never found his footing in the medal-clinching fight against Brata and ended the competition in fifth place after losing by a Yuko.
Ze'evi's disappointing performance means Alice Shlesinger was the Israeli delegation's only medalist of the event, winning the bronze in the women's under-63 kilogram competition on Saturday.
Israel's judokas will now set their sights on success in September's World Championships in Rotterdam.
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