The European Judo Union are the only continental union to host this particular level of event. The purpose of cadet, junior and now the ‘Hopes’ events, is for the development of athletes in Europe. We are very fortunate that the popular events attract judoka from all over the world, which continues to push the levels higher. However, there is not always a seamless transition from junior to senior, and it is here that the U23 European Championships lends itself. It can be important for so many athletes to have this small bridge as they navigate their place on the senior tour.
Though typically this event attracts juniors and those in the ‘in between’ phase, Piła is also attracting a much younger crowd this year, quite a few able to boast championship medals at both European and World level as cadets this year. The host nation in particular is using this opportunity to test their strong young team.
Jakub KUROWSKI will compete for Poland in the -60kg category and has already impressed this year on numerous occasions; placing 2nd and 3rd in the Cadet European and World Championships respectively. In the -78kg category, Zuzanna BANASZEWSKA not only left Sofia with a Cadet title, but continued her domination in Lima, becoming Cadet World Champion in the +70kg category. Already a Junior European title holder, Katarzyna SOBIERAJSKA will represent in the -70kg, and has plenty of experience under her belt. This will be her final opportunity to compete in this event, but it will be a fond farewell for the two-time Grand Prix medallist to perform on a European stage in front of friends and family.
There will also be some more heavy hitters from the world stage, in the -48kg category, Olympic bronze medallist Tara BABULFATH (SWE) is returning to the tatami. Moving in to the -57kg category has already proven to be a strong move for the -52kg Grand Slam medallist, Ana Viktorija PULJIZ (CRO), who placed second in the Zagreb Grand Prix at her new weight. Puljiz already won the U23 European title in 2021, as well as a bronze in 2023 but there is always room for one more. Also in the -57kg category, Nino LOLADZE (GEO) took silver at this level last year and will be hoping to stand one step higher, perhaps with her more recently acquired experience as a World Mixed Team medallist, she will have an extra push. The same could be said for Eter ASKILASHVILI in the -63kg who will be travelling out for Team Georgia.
Elena DENGG most recently made waves for Team Austria, winning her Junior World title in Tajikistan and will be fuelled to take yet another, but will have competition in the -70kg category from the likes of Samira BOCK (GER) who is looking to take her third U23 European title in a row! Germany will continue to be a powerhouse in the -78kg category with the likes of Anna MONTA OLEK, three-time Grand Prix winner and most recently claimed her first Grand Slam title in Abu Dhabi. In the +78kg category, Hilal OZTURK with be representing Türkiye, and though she sits at #8 in the world ranking list, she missed out on Olympic opportunity as her more senior team mate took the place, but still at only 22 years-old, she has much left to offer.
Though in the -60kg category, there may not be Olympians, there are still champions in the making! Nazar VISKOV (UKR) was the one to defeat Kurowski in the European final, and he has been on a roll as of recent so will be one to watch for on day one. In the -66kg category, a couple of names stand out including 2023 Junior European Champion, Tengo ZIRAKASHVILI (GEO) and Senior European silver medallist, Muhammed DEMIREL (TUR), those following are also steadily making their way on the senior circuit so this could be a very tough category to predict. As Zirakashvili took his junior title, so did Giorgi TERASHVILI (GEO) in the -73kg category, and will be no doubt be supporting one another on day one. He will be joined by the recent Zagreb Grand Prix winner, SZEGEDI Daniel (HUN).
A great contender in the -81kg category will be Omar RAJABLI (AZE), already making headway on the IJF World Tour with a silver medal from the Baku Grand Slam. As for the -90kg men, rising star, Mihail LATISEV (MDA) will be joined by Junior European Champions, 2024 winner Miljan RADULJ (SRB) and from 2023, Lars VAN OOSTRUM (NED). A familiar name is Aslan KOTSOEV (AZE), younger sibling to the current -100kg Olympic Champion, Zelym KOTSOIEV, who recently supported his brother in the Junior World Championships but narrowly missed out on the podium place. SAFRANY Peter was also part of the successful Hungarian team in Zagreb, where he picked up his first Grand Prix title.
Titles continue to fly around in the -100kg category, Nikita YUDANOV (UKR) took second place in the U23 European Championships last year, just after taking his Cadet title, but in a new category he is still testing his abilities. Jean CARLETTI (ITA) gave a stunning performance in The Hague in 2023 taking a Junior European title, and has now been trying out the senior circuit, most recently winning a bronze in the Tallinn European Open. Finally, in the men’s +100kg, Cadet European Champion and World silver medallist, Marek-Adrian MASAK (EST) will potentially be taking on Junior World silver medallist Kanan NASIBOV (AZE), as well as 2021 Junior World Champion and last years U23 silver medallist, Irakli DEMETRASHVILI (GEO).
The draw will be live at JudoTV.com at 16:00 local time on the 14th of November.
Judoka
Author: Thea Cowen