The OTP Group Cadet World Championships in Sofia are looming. Many of these young athletes have been pushed to their limits over these summer months, some competing in both the Cadet European Championships as well as the European Youth Olympic Festival in Skopje, North Macedonia. Now an even bigger challenge, after dominating the continent, can they go on for world domination?
Impressively, out of the 16 weight categories, Europe have stronghold of 13 of those positions in the run up to these championships, and for so many of them, it will be their first opportunity to compete against athletes from further afield. A staggering 593 athletes from 76 nations are registered to take on the ultimate challenge and be able to call themselves the worlds best, certainly no easy feat. So let’s take a look at some of the stand out cadets of 2025 so far…
Despite having 13 front runners, a handful managed to double up on major success with both European and Youth Olympic Festival titles.
Emma FEUILLET-NGUIMGO (FRA) in the +70kg category was the only young woman who managed to take the two who will be competing in Sofia next week, and considering her huge turnaround in 2025, she will be determined to improve on her 2025 result in Lima, where she narrowly missed out on a podium place.
From the young men, three will be looking to make it a hat-trick; Rasul ALIZADA (AZE/-55kg), Veljko VARNICIC (SRB/-73kg) and Majus GENYS (LTU/-90kg).
The latter was also an inspiration for team mate, Tajus BABAICENKO, who will top the -81kg category, and who moved himself from a third place podium position in the Cadet European Championships to the top place in the EYOF. It’s a strong move from Team Lithuania who don’t often hear their national anthem, but this feels like a turn in the tide among their younger generation and their 12-strong team in Sofia.
Varnicic isn’t only winning major medals, but he has lost only one contest out of 32 in 2025, displaying tremendous consistency, not just helping himself to top positions, but also contributing to Team Serbia taking the Mixed Team gold in the EYOF. The young athlete is also another example of a sensation improvement on his 2024 achievements, placing fifth in the Cadet European Championships and struggling to find his footing in the Cadet Worlds, however he is a different judoka this time around.
Meet the other top seeds representing Europe in Sofia, Bulgaria…
Judoka
Author: Thea Cowen