Putin judo partner Kuziutina claims historic silver at World Championships
Russian judoka Natalia Kuziutina, who famously had a practice session with President Vladimir Putin earlier this year, has won silver at the 2019 World Judo Championships in Japan.
Olympic bronze medalist Kuziutina entered the final of the women’s under 52kg weight category, where she lost to 19-year-old Japanese sensation Uta Abe.
READ MORE: Meet Natalia Kuziutina - the Olympic judoka and 'woman who floored Putin' (PHOTOS)
The 30-year old judoka became the first Russian female judoka to win silver at the World Championships, with the previous success dating back to 1989 when Elena Petrova took silver at the tournament while representing the USSR.
In June, Kuziutina also grabbed silver at the European Championships losing, the final bout to the reigning Olympic champion Majlinda Kelmendi of Kosovo.
Kuziutina made the headlines earlier this year when she took to the mat with Putin at an event in Sochi.
The pair traded throws, leading Kuziutina to be dubbed “the woman who floored Putin” by some sections of the press.
