For the second year in a row, the Junior European Cup will take place in Podgorica, Montenegro. It has been an exceptional year for the Montenegrin Judo Federation, which hosted the Senior European Championships in April, the European Cup in March, and now welcomes the 14th event of the 15-stop European Cup season. Only next week’s tournament in Maribor in Slovenia remains on the calendar.
In Podgorica, a total of 240 athletes are registered, an increase of fifteen percent compared to last year. The field includes 156 men, with 40 judoka competing in the -73kg category alone. More than 80 women will be aiming for medals, and the -57kg division is the most populated among them.
The tournament begins with the men’s lightweight categories and the women’s heavier divisions on the opening day. In total, 27 nations from four continents are represented. Athletes have travelled not only from across Europe but also from Sierra Leone, Canada, the United States, Mexico and even a team of eight athletes from Australia.
The home nation is naturally sending the largest delegation with 46 athletes. They are followed by Bosnia and Herzegovina with 29 competitors, Serbia with 24 and Croatia with 23.
Several of last year’s winners returned to the circuit this season. Five took part in the recent U23 European Championships, and two even won medals: Valerio Accogli (ITA) and Jochem van Harten (NED), who both fought in the -66kg category last year in Podgorica and continued their strong form. Another of last year’s champions, Serbia’s Lazar Zdrale, captured a World Junior medal this year in Lima. Canada’s Lasha Tsatsalashvili took a medal at the Pan American Open last week. It will be interesting to see whether this year’s winners in Podgorica will follow the same path and make the step toward senior and world level success sooner or later.
For now, they will meet their peers in Montenegro over two days of competition, which you can follow live online via JudoTV.com.
Author: Hans Van Essen