The first edition of the Malaga Junior European Cup event in 2019 attracted athletes from around the world and this weekend is no different in the Polideportivo Ciudad Jardin. With 349 athletes, it is set to be an exciting weekend for the junior athletes, and with entries from Japan, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Morocco and Puerto Rico, it will be a chance for the European athletes to see how they fare on a wider stage.
Some of the entries this weekend have already been tested on such a stage at cadet and junior world events, including the -60kg number one seed, Giorgi SARDALASHVILI (GEO). Last year he first took the silver medal in the European championships for U21 and later gold at the world level, he is certainly a rising star for Georgia and one to watch this weekend.
However there will be a lot of attention on the host athletes as the young women take four of the number one spots including; Ariane TORO SOLER (-52kg), Marta GARCIA MARTIN (57kg), Laura VAZQUEZ FERNANDEZ (-63kg) and Ai TSUNODA ROUSTANT (70kg).
Though Toro Soler has competition from her own team mates in her category, she will have an eye on the #3 and #4 seeds; Tatum KEEN and Hannah WOOD of Great Britain as the pair have been collecting medals, Keen in her past three junior cup events and Wood taking gold in Poznan. There is a high level of competition to be seen this weekend and the entry is certainly an interesting one. The full list can be seen on the EJU website by following the link in the image.
The live online draw will commence at 20:00 local time on Friday 20th of May with the elimination rounds currently set to begin at 09:00 on both competition days. All can be accessed via the EJU website as well as live.ijf.org.
Judoka
Author: Thea Cowen