Lucija Polavder earned Slovenia a medal at the World Judo Championships in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday, clinching a silver in the open class.
While the medal does not mean Polavder has automatically qualified for the 2008 Summer Olympic Games since hers is not an Olympic discipline, Roki Draksic won a ticket to Beijing by placing 5th in the -60 kg class.
Draskic joined Urska Zolnir, who met the Olympic norm at the Championships earlier.
One of the youngest female members of the Slovenian team, Polavder defeated European champion Anne Sophie Mondiere of France in the semi-finals, but had to admit to the advantage of Maki Tsukada of Japan in the finals. "This is not an Olympic discipline, I agree, but a medal from World Championships is a medal and I'm truly happy...the paramount goal now is obviously Beijing, which will require some effort at World Cup competitions, but I hope I can show my skills in China too," Polavder said.
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