Once again Coimbra hosts the first event of the European Junior Tour. This year, the competition counts with a participation of 391 athletes in representation of 21 countries.
On this first day of competition The Netherlands and Italy took two gold medals each, Lithuania, Austria and France collected the one gold medal each, making the medal ranking balanced.
Italian athlete Valerio ACCOGLI (U66kg) was the athlete of the day by winning all six contests by Ippon. Accogli was bronze medallist at the Cadet European Judo Championships last year and this is his first international competition at the junior level.
Being the first junior competition it was a very difficult competition but I managed to have a smooth competition, so I felt good today.
In his way to gold he defeated athletes from Panama, Portugal, Denmark, France and Belgium (2), winning all of them by Ippon and showing impressive judo skills.
These were very strong emotions, because as I changed from cadet to junior it was not easy, but I want to thank the Carabinieri Sports group that helped me in this transition and make a competition in the best possible way.
Regarding the next goals, Accogli has his eyes and mind on the Lignano Junior European Cup 2022, and like always his goal is to do his best, looking to do the things in the right way.
The host country Portugal collected the two bronze medals in the U78 category by Carolina PAIVA and Fábia CONCEIÇÃO.
The competition continues tomorrow with another day filled with exciting
contests from the most promissing young judokas of the world.
Author: Portuguese Judo Federation
Judoka
Author: EJU Media