In contrast to the Japanese-dominated first day, the second competition day of the Junior European Cup in Graz was all about the Europeans. With Suleyman SHUKUROV (-81), Tuncay SHAMIL (-90) and Kanan NASIBOV (+100), Azerbaijan managed the gold hat-trick in the men’s event. For Shukurov and Nasibov it was their second win of the season after Malaga, while Tuncay Shamil celebrated his first success in his junior premiere season (he had won bronze in Malaga).
The fourth men’s victory on Sunday also went to Europe: 18-year-old Milan BULAJA (SRB) got the better of Brazil’s Matheus GUIMARES in the final. For the 2022 European Cadets Champion, it was his second win of the season (after Rijeka) and his 4th European Cup victory overall.
The 3rd gold final of the day was particularly loud in the packed sports hall in Graz. Local hero Carina KLAUS-STERNWIESER (-52) won the Austrian-Hungarian neighbourhood duel against Luca Mamira (HUN) with Ippon after Ura-nage. The two had stood shoulder to shoulder on the podium in Graz last year as bronze medallists, this Sunday they met on the mat for the first time – and for gold. In the end, it was enough for the hosts to finish 6th in the medal table (1 x gold, 1 x bronze/Dengg/-70). The weight class up to 52 kg was the best occupied of the entire tournament – with five judoka from the top 10 of the junior world rankings.
Japan secured the nations ranking (7-1-2) well ahead of Azerbaijan (3-0-1) and the Netherlands (1-1-3).
“We are not only very satisfied with Carina’s sporting success, but also with the smooth organisation of the event. We had very strong teams from Europe, America and Asia at the start, the level of the competitions was extremely high,” said Judo Austria President and EJU Secretary General Martin POIGER.
Author: EJU Media