Maltese judokas topped the medals table in the 33rd edition of the Malta International Judo Open held over the weekend, with Rodney Zammit in a starring role on the day.

The Open, held at the Malta Judo Academy, saw nine countries competing in four events.

After opening with a children’s exhibition, the competition began in earnest with the Espoir category in which the Hungarian national team dominated proceedings.

But Clive Camilleri, a student of the National Sport School, managed to earn a silver medal.

Hungary again took charge of the Cadet category, with some of the Maltese judokas competing on the international stage for the first time.

But for all that, Rodney Zammit won all of his -60kg contests with ease to take gold, and reap the benefits of his training with coach Giorgi Kaldani in Georgia.

David Cucic was another gold medal winner after topping the -81kg category.

In the girls’ categories, Lara Castillo recovered from her disappointing showing in the cadets to take gold in the -57kg senior category after defeating Frazier (Malta) and Roll (Germany).

The fourth gold medal for Malta came from Cheryl Kaye Cachia, winning her maiden international honour after defeating opponents from Finland and Germany.

Georgia topped the medals table in the Open event winning both male categories.

But the highlight of the day was a friendly contest between Rodney Zammit and Paul Reigert, a partially disabled person, who was participating through the Volunteering and Inclusion project currently organised by the Malta Judo Federation.