World Judo Association President Marius Viser responded to the request of Israeli Judo chairman Moshe Ponti to postpone by a few days the decision on the identity of the country that will host next year's World Championships.
As at the end of every championship, there is a ceremony in which the flag passes into the hands of the host country, but this time the event did not take place, with Weiser waiting for the final answer from Ponti, who will return to Israel today and try to raise the missing amount for the big event.
As first reported by Israel Hayom, Ponti very much wants to host the championship next year, just before the Olympic Games in Paris, but the budget is still short of NIS 30 million, which he will try to obtain from Sports Minister Miki Zohar, with whom he is scheduled to meet soon.
Weiser, for his part, was very pleased with hosting the recent events that took place in Israel (the Masters in Jerusalem and the Grand Slam in Tel Aviv). Weiser came to those competitions and was even impressed by Peace Arena, but at the same time understood the complexity of organizing the tournament in the capital.
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Meanwhile, the Israel Judo Association will hold a special press conference tomorrow, after the historic championships of the Blue and White athletes who finished with the gold medal of Inbar Lanir and the bronze medals of Peter Palchik and Raz Hershko. Tomorrow as well, Ponti will call for the help of the state in order to support the holding of the World Championships in Israel.
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