The Belgian judoka finished third at the European Championships, winning the fifth European medal of his career.
The thirty-ninth European Judo Championships was held on the tatamis in Podgorica, the capital of Montenegro.
In the -81 kg category, Belgium's Matthias Casse was hoping to repeat his success of 2019 after defeating Portugal's Fernando, Azerbaijan's Rajabli and Montenegro's Gardasevic.
In the semi-finals, the Belgian Half Middleweight champion came up against Russia's Arbusov (21 years old/n°6). Faced with an opponent he was meeting for the third time with a record of one win apiece, the fight between the runner-up from the World Championships and Tashkent gold medallist and the athlete from Antwerp promised to be an interesting one. Unfortunately, a long immobilisation on the ground resulted in the Belgian's defeat, undeserved in the eyes of many neutral spectators.
In the bronze-medal final, Matthias Casse was up against an old acquaintance in the shape of Italy's Esposito (30 years old/n°9), an opponent he had already met six times, with a track record of five to one for the Belgian.
At the end of a sudden death match, with the fight extended beyond the end of regulation time, the Belgian judoka was victorious.
This result sees Matthias Casse winning his fifth medal of the European Judo Championships.
