Polish women shine at Junior European Cup in Sarajevo

The European Cup for Juniors in Sarajevo took place last weekend, with judokas from across Europe and beyond competing for top honours. The competition showcased some of the most talented young judokas in the region and outside. 14 top spots were reserved for the gold medals.

The first male weight category on Saturday was the U60 division, which saw Andrei Anghel from Romania emerge victorious. Anghel put in an impressive performance, defeating Matija Jeremic of Serbia in the final to take the gold medal. The U66 category was won by Serdar Rahimov from Turkmenistan, who beat Flavius Lungu from Romania in the final to clinch the title. In the U73 category, it was Ioan Dzitac from Romania who took the gold medal, defeating Luke Davies of Great Britain in the final.

The U81 category saw Jumber Meladze from Canada put in a dominant performance to win the gold medal, defeating Lazar Zdrale of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the final. Rares Arsenie from Romania was the winner of the U90 category, beating Michal Wasikowski of Poland in the final to take the gold medal as youngest man of the tournament. Jakob Vares from Estonia took the top spot in the U100 category, defeating Baymyrat Majanov of Turkmenistan in the final to clinch the title. The O100 category saw Grzegorz Teresinski from Poland take the gold medal, defeating Kabriel Kirna of Estonia in the final.

In the women's categories, Giorgia Hagianu of Romania won the U48 category, with Laura Bogdan of Romania finishing in second place. Hagianu showed great technique, speed, and agility, which helped her to dominate her opponents and win the gold medal.

18-year young Nikolina Nisavic of Serbia won the U52 category, while Evelyn Beaton of Canada finished in second place. Nisavic's victory was a result of her excellent technique, tactical awareness, and physical strength, which she used to outclass her opponents.

Kinga Chmielewska of Poland won the U57 category, while Maysa Pardayeva of Turkmenistan finished in second place.

Another Polish victory in the women’s U63kg division, the last medals on Saturday was for Martyna Glubiak who defeated Sylhia Mayila of France in the final.

On Sunday the Polish women continued with another gold for Aleksandra Kowalewska U70kg when she was able to top Karla Kulic (CRO). It was a great start for the Polish women and the motivational gold of Kowalewska was picked by Aleksandra Turek who bested Dutch woman Berber Ludema for her first international medal U78kg. Serbia won the heavyweight category as Anastasiia Bogdanovic defeated homeplayer Lana Bjelica who took silver.

The next European Cup for Juniors will be held in Poznan were the same women can give another try to win a same amount of gold medals as in Bosnia.