Azerbaijan leads the pack at first day of Junior Europeans

The first day of the European Judo Championships Juniors 2024 in Tallinn was filled with surprises and impressive performances, with Azerbaijan finishing at the top of the medal table, followed by Italy and Serbia.

In the -48kg category, Zilan Ertem of Turkey caused a major upset when she eliminated top seed and 2023 cadet world champion, Aitana Diaz Hernandez from Spain, in a well-executed tactical display. Ertem continued her winning streak to reach the final. On the other side of the draw, Konul Aliyeva from Azerbaijan fought her way to the final, defeating the number two seed, Morgane Annis of France, along the way. In the final, Aliyeva scored a waza-ari with a sumi-gaeshi before following up with a perfectly timed uchi-mata to secure the gold medal and Azerbaijan’s first title of the tournament.

In the -57kg category, the top seed, Kinga Chmielewska from Poland, was eliminated early when Spain’s Adriana Saez Hevia outclassed her with an Okuri-eri-jime, forcing a tap-out. This opened the door for other competitors, with Nino Loladze from Georgia taking advantage to advance to the final. In the lower half of the draw, Fidan Alizada of Azerbaijan upset the second seed, Jevgenija Gajic of Slovenia, before storming into the final. In a thrilling bout, Alizada delivered a perfectly executed O-uchi-gari with just under a minute left, securing her first European title.

In the -60kg category, Nizami Imranov from Azerbaijan displayed dominance throughout the day, confidently making his way to the final. There, he faced Nazar Viskov of Ukraine, who had been equally impressive in the lower half of the draw. The final was a close contest, but with a minute remaining, Viskov executed a ko-soto-gake counter to score a waza-ari. Imranov spent the remaining time chasing a score, but Viskov held firm to claim another European title for himself.

In the -66kg category, Italy’s Valerio Accogli showcased his tactical prowess and strong nage-komi skills to advance to the final, where he faced his teammate, Alessio De Luca. An early upset occurred when Switzerland’s Stevan Maitin defeated the second seed, Jochem Van Harten of the Netherlands, in the round of 32, but Maitin was eventually stopped in the semi-finals by De Luca, leaving him to fight for bronze, where he fell short. In the final, Accogli managed to catch De Luca with a low seoi-nage, scoring a waza-ari and claiming victory. This win added a second junior European gold medal to the Accogli family, following his brother Daniel’s victory in 2022.

In the -52kg category, Micaela Sciacovelli of Italy, the top seed, began her day with two strong wins but faltered in the semi-final against Kinga Klimczak of Poland, who capitalized on a mistake by Sciacovelli during a sutemi-waza attempt. Meanwhile, Serbia’s Nikolina Nisavic cruised through the lower half of the draw, not allowing any of her opponents to score on her. In the final, it was Klimczak who made the crucial error, getting trapped under Nisavic from a tomoe-nage attempt, allowing the Serbian judoka to capitalize and take the gold.