Judo gold medal winner Henk Grol has said he is delighted to be on top of the podium after victory over Czech Republic's Lucas Krpalek in the -100kg final.
Krpalek is the current European and world champion but Grol has now beaten him in four of their previous five matches.
Grol told reporters: "I have a good track record against him and I think that I'm the only one who can throw him, which I've done both in the World Championships and in the Olympics. That was my plan, he is physically very strong and I had to survive the last minute, but I got some penalties and that was no problem.
"It's really a fantastic feeling to be back on top of the podium. I've turned 30 so I'm in the last years of my career and I want to win as much as possible before I quit. I've lost three European finals, two in golden score. I was very close many times, but it's a hard weight category."
Grol's victory was the Netherlands' eighth gold medal of the European Games.
Jonathan McIntosh
