Just over 24 hours remain until the official draw of the European Judo Championships Juniors 2025 in Bratislava and after the buzz around the women’s divisions, it’s time to turn the spotlight on the men.
The only world number one heading to Bratislava is Jakob Vares (EST). After taking silver at home last year, he’s hungry for redemption in the -100kg category. Fate might have a sense of humour too, world ranked number four is Milan Bulaja (SRB), the very man who denied Vares the title in 2024. A rematch on the cards?
In the -81kg, the defending champion Suleyman Shukurov (AZE) arrives as the only men’s world number two. Add his junior world bronze (2024) and Grand Slam top-five finish (2025) and he looks unstoppable. Still, don’t write off Joshua de Lange (NED), a European and world top-seven finisher who’s creeping closer to the elite.
The -73kg category is headlined by Britain’s Irakli Goginashvili, ranked number three in the world. With three junior European Cup wins and a senior medal this year, he has got the momentum. France’s Peter Jean, still with memories from participating at the Paris Grand Slam 2025, and Goginashvili’s teammate Benjamin Levy, Warsaw European Open champion, will make sure the road isn’t easy.
At +100kg, all eyes are on Ibrahim Tataroglu (TUR), junior world medallist twice over and reigning European champion. He is also boasting two Grand Slam medals and his Paris 2024 Olympic experience. The challengers? Mortaza Suha (GER), Marek-Adrian Masak (EST) and others who will aim to spoil the script.
Poland’s Oleksii Boldyriev takes top seed in the -90kg, chased by Vadim Ghimbovschi (MDA), a junior world bronze medallist, and Azerbaijan’s Aslan Kotsoev, last year’s junior European silver winner.
In the -66kg, France’s Kylian Noel has unfinished business after narrowly missing the podium in 2024. With Mahammad Musayev (AZE), an U23 European medallist, and Italy’s Federico Ninfo pushing hard, expect fireworks.
The -60kg sees a French double act at the top: Zacharie Dijol, 2024 bronze medallist, will lead the draw while teammate Kelvin Ray, a 2025 Paris Grand Slam 7th-place finisher, should control the bottom half. However, don’t forget home hero Jozef Tomanek (SVK), with the Bratislava crowd behind him, anything is possible.
That wraps up the men’s preview, now it’s a waiting game before the draw shakes everything into place. Tune in live at JudoTV.com, and follow @europeanjudo for every twist, turn, and more.
Author: Szandra Szogedi