Some nations are fortunate to have a great depth in their own countries, with the likes of France having a seemingly never ending stream of athletes at every level, others are lucky to share borders and have easy access to travel to other clubs around the continent, but not all are afforded these opportunities.
For some, including Great Britain athletes, getting international experience isn’t always so easy, so when the opportunity presents itself, it needs to be grabbed with both hands. This is certainly felt by father-son duo, Thasan and Ashwin YOGANATHAN. Proudly sporting their Wales uniform, both were equally as happy to be present for the Bytom European Judo Hopes Tournament 2025, but where did the judo journey start for this family?
So it’s actually interesting how we became involved, we moved back to Wales from London after having children, and we had a leak in the house, called the plumber and he happened to be a judo coach! At the time, Ashwin was three years old and his sister was four, we were looking for some activity to do and he explained he was a coach in Swansea and invited us to try. At the time we didn’t;t even know what judo was, so we went along and they loved it. I watched it from the side for a year or two before trying it myself, then I started competing, got my black belt, started coaching, I have my level two coaching credentials now and so it allows me to go to these wonderful events and coach my children.
The European Judo Hopes Tournament is still a relatively new addition to the European Judo Union calendar, but has already snowballed, garnering great attention and praise.
A lot of people were talking about the event at home and we saw it on the EJU website, so we found the details, contacted British Judo and they were kind enough to enrol us with the Welsh national coach approving the application. Our first experience in Sarajevo was really really good, we’d already done a lot of domestic competitions and some in Europe, however this is such a much higher level and more professional with organisation, accreditation, and I think it’s a great experience. Even going through judogi control, it’s all totally different.
Attending such an event as a cadet or junior for the first time can be daunting, it is a new environment, new rules, a greater structure, and can be a lot to deal with before even reaching the tatami. One of the functions of this event is to help eliminate the pressure, to give the young athletes the experience of a professional organisation without the stress of performance.
This is exactly why I did it, next year he will be a cadet and will have had the experience at a few of these high level tournaments, then the focus can be on his judo.
Ashwin also added,
It’s very tough but also very exciting, I have made some friends this weekend from Israel so it’s been nice.
Israel is of course an incredibly strong judo nation, and Thasan explains that this is another reason to be active internationally, to be testing performances against nations who are renowned for talented judoka, who they wouldn’t typically compete against.
We’ve competed closer to home, in Belgium, Netherland, France and Luxembourg, and pretty much every domestic competition, but this is just pushing the boundaries a bit more. It has been a lot easier this weekend, in Sarajevo it was our first time so even accreditation was something new to manage, but here we knew what to do and we could concentrate more on the judo and training experience.
Kodokan Expert, NAKAMURA Misato is in Bytom, here from Japan as she was in Sarajevo and passes on her distinct knowledge to these young minds who soak up every second, but for most of these youngsters, and parents alike for that matter, the main draw was Olympic Champion and silver medallist, European Hero, Tina TRSTENJAK of Slovenia. It’s one thing to be a champion on the tatami, but Trstenjak is also travelling the world to deliver education through the IJF Academy, so her skill set is refined and a real treat for those in Bytom.
The training is wonderful, this opportunity is not something we have at home, and they’ve kindly let me watch so that I can replicate it at home, it’s refining their skills and really looking at detail. It is very very important for the development, at home we can learn technique and do our judo, but here as I say, it’s those finer details from the experts. It’s really building on what they’ve learned at home, and in a competition environment. I also feel like it helps them stay ahead, the idea is to do more and more to be better than others from around the world.
Author: Thea Cowen