The XI European Junior Judo Cup will be held this weekend at the Ciudad Jardin Sports Center with the participation of 367 judokas. This European Cup is included in the official calendar of the European Judo Union (EJU). The purpose of it is the preparation of the different national teams of countries from the five continents for the respective scheduled world and European championships.
The European number one in -60 kg, Giorgi Sardalashvili, a young Georgian promise, who has already been a gold medal in the U21 World Cup and a silver in the European of that category.
In the women’s box, four Spanish women stand out who are bidding for number one in their respective weights: Ariane Toro Soler (-52 kg); Marta Garca Martin (57 kg); Laura Vzquez Fernndez (-63 kg) and Ai Tsunoda (70 kg). In addition, in -52 kg, the British Tatum Keen and Hannah Wood, 3 and 4 in the European ranking, respectively, can be seen. The first, winner of different medals in the last three continental cups, and the second, European champion in Poznan 2022.
In 2019, the same stage hosted this event with 360 competitors (190 of them Spanish, who had a registration limit due to the great demand) with a remarkable success of participation and organization. This reason led the EJU to consider Mlaga as a new venue this year.
This tournament will be followed by a training activity from Monday 23 to Wednesday 25 May with many of the participants in the weekend’s competition.
The list of countries present with their number of athletes is as follows: Belgium (with 9), Bulgaria (2), Denmark (6), spain (86), Estonia (8), Finland (8), France, (24), Great Britain (35), Georgia (3), Germany (34), Greece (1), Ireland (3), Israel (9) , Italy (1), Japan (12), Kazakhstan (11), Liechtenstein (1), Lithuania (5), Morocco (4), Mexico (1), Netherlands (20), Norway (4), Poland (3 ), Portugal (21), Puerto Rico (1), Romania (9), Switzerland (9), Sweden (7), Ukraine (12) and the United States (18).
Malaga is a place of reference in European judo, as each year it hosts the European Senior Open and Olympic training, which take place in October. Although this competition is in the junior category, many of these participants will also attend the fall absolute. Every year the name of our city is advertised in more countries and every year more nations and participants want to take part in this judo event.
