The third day of the event at the European Judo Championships Juniors Tallinn 2024 will present the women’s -78kg / +78kg and men’s -90kg / -100kg / +100kg categories. This is the day the home crowd will be looking forward to the most.
The home fans will not only be able to celebrate their double medal delivery from the cadet worlds in Lima via Marek-Adrian Masak and Emma-Melis Aktas but will also be able to see the pair in action at the Unibet Arena. Masak will be taking on the challenges of the +100kg category, while Aktas will be looking to hone her skills on home soil in the +78kg category. The highest ranked junior judoka in the Estonian team will also be competing on day three, in the -100kg category and the man of the hour will be Jakob Vares (EST).
In the -100kg category, Joes Schell (NED) is not only the top seed in his category but also the 2023 junior world bronze medallist. In the +100kg category, Ibrahim Tataroglu (TUR), the 2023 world junior silver medallist, is of a similar calibre. However, he is not the top seed in his divison as that position is claimed by Kanan Nasibov (AZE). His team-mate Ramazan Ahmadov (AZE), the 2023 cadet European champion, will be looking to make his mark on the junior circuit. On paper, Michal Wasikowski (POL) is the dominant figure in the -90kg category. Will he remain so at the end of day three?
The German team is in for a real treat in the -78kg category as Eva Ronja Buddenkotte (GER) and Mathilda Sophie Niemeyer (GER) are the current top two seeds in the division, indicating their dominance so far. After the Paris Olympic race we witnessed in the -78kg category within the German team, it is no news that Germany is strong in this category. Finland also has the potential to win a medal with Emma Krapu (FIN) in the -78kg category. Yuli Alma Mishiner (ISR) is not only the top seed but also the world rank leader in the +78kg category, having won bronze at the junior European Championships last year (at the age of 17!) and dominating at two of the junior cups this year, she looks confident to win. Mishiner is also led by example, as Raz Hershko is a decorated Israeli heavyweight judoka who won silver at the Paris Olympics. Can the younger generation match her glory? Only time will tell.
The third day of the event is scheduled to start at 10:30am local time (GMT +2). Follow all the action live online at judotv.com.
Author: Szandra Szogedi