Even before the third and final individual competition day of the European Judo Championships Juniors in Tallinn (EST), Team AZERBAIJAN can no longer be denied victory in the medal table. With 4 gold medals and one silver medal, they are clearly leading the nations ranking ahead of Italy (1-1-1) and Germany (1-0-2).
On Friday afternoon, Vusal GALANDARZADE (-73) and Suleyman SHUKUROV (-81) turned out to be unbeatable. For Vusal, 20, the reigning Junior World Champion and number one seed, it was his last appearance at the European Championships Juniors. His record speaks for itself: he won gold in Prague in 2022 and in Tallinn in 2024, only having to ‘settle’ for bronze in The Hague last year. Galandarzade’s victory therefore came as anything but a surprise. “I wasn’t thinking about anything other than the gold medal. I want to become World and Olympic champion. The junior titles are just an intermediate step.” It is hardly surprising that he is now also aiming for his second World Championships Juniors gold in Dushanbe (TJK) at the beginning of October.
Suleyman Shukurov was still fighting in the cadet category last year. The 18-year-old has World Championships bronze in the cadet division and an EYOF silver medal on his CV. He took the junior category by storm – with two European Cup victories and two second places. In Tallinn he was seeded number four. Only in one of his five fights, in the semi-final against the top seeded Ukrainian Igor TSURKAN, did he have to fight up to the regular four minutes. He won all his other fights early. “I wanted to emulate my teammates and win gold too,” said youngster Shukurov.
No fewer than three 18-year-olds won gold in Tallinn on Friday: Bauer/GER/-63, Fohouo/SUI/-70 and Shukurov/AZE/-81. 20-year-old Vusal Galandarzade was the only athlete from the older generation to live up to his role as favourite.
Author: EJU Media