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On the first weekend of April, from 5th to 6th, 489 judokas from 41 countries from six continents will gather in Dubrovnik for the European Senior Cup. The Croatian national team will be present with 53 competitors. Last year’s record tournament ‘beaten to the punch’: Olympic vice-champion, world champion, medalists from the European Championships, Grand Slam…
Tournament on which also in the past competed Olympic Champion Barbara MATIĆ (gold 2015, silver 2020 – U70kg category), this year again come to Dubrovnik, but in spectator role only.
According to Klara MITROVIĆ, president of the Judo Club Dubrovnik 1966, the tournament host and member of the Executive Committee of the Croatian Judo Federation, this competition counts points for the European ranking and is for many a check for the European Championship.
Swiss Nils STUMP, world champion in the -73kg category from 2023 and bronze medalist from last year’s World Championships, is arriving. German Eduard TRIPPEL, who won silver at the Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2021, is also arriving.
There is also Daniel EICH, a Swiss, who lost the bronze medal match in Paris in the -100 kg category and took fifth place.
Then comes the current European Championships runner-up in the -52 kg category, the Frenchwoman Blandine PONT. Of course, there is also Iva OBERAN in the -63 kg category, who was seventh at last year’s World Championships. Her category, 63 kg, is the most numerous.
I am used to being in a category that is always the most numerous, but it does not pose a big problem for me. Although I always like to fight in front of the home crowd, it also brings a certain amount of pressure because I know that a lot is expected of me. However, as I said, I like to fight in front of the home crowd and I have not fought in Dubrovnik for a couple of years, so I am excited.
The best placed in the world rankings are Iva Oberan and Nils Stump, who are eighth, Daniel Eich is twelfth, Murad FATIYEV is nineteenth, and twenty-first is Vugar TALIBOV, another Azerbaijani, who, like Fatiyev, competes in the -90 kg category. His best result last year was gold at the Grand Slam.
Head of the Judo Club Dubrovnik 1966 and one of the coaches of the Croatian national team, Mateo SEMIZ, expressed his satisfaction at being able to perform in front of the home crowd at such a strong tournament at a press conference held this Thursday,
Strong names are coming, we have world champions, medal winners from European competitions, but also Olympic Games, and I believe that you will enjoy top-notch judo. The Croatian national team is competing with a quality team and we will certainly have something to show.
On Saturday, April 5, the qualifications begin at 8 am, and at 5 pm there will be a ceremonial opening, followed by the final block. On the first day, the tatami will feature female judokas up to 63, up to 70, up to 78 and over 78 kilograms, and male judokas up to 60, up to 66 and up to 73 kilograms. On Sunday, April 6, the fights will also start at 8 am (female judokas up to 48, up to 52 and up to 57 kilograms and male judokas up to 81, up to 90, up to 100 and over 100 kilograms).
Last year’s European Senior Cup was a record with 350 judokas from 28 countries from three continents. This year’s will ‘beat’ it to the punch. All Dubrovnik clubs are coming out with the strongest trump cards.
Author: Mario Krvavac, Croatian Judo Federation
Judoka
Author: EJU Media