Italy Selects Experimental Judo Roster for Belgrade Mixed Team European Championships
Italy has named an experimental judo squad featuring largely second- and third-tier athletes for the upcoming European Mixed Team Championships, as reported by oasport.it. The continental tournament takes place on Saturday, November 7, 2026, at the Aleksander Nikolic Hall in Belgrade, returning to standalone team competitions after two consecutive seasons where individual and team titles were decided within a single event.
The Belgrade event falls just one week after the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam and directly precedes the final stretch of the international season, which includes the Zagreb Grand Prix from November 13 to 15, the Tokyo Grand Slam on December 5 and 6, and the Dushanbe Masters from December 18 to 20. Because of this scheduling conflict, the overall technical level across competing nations is expected to drop compared to previous editions, when top-tier athletes remained on-site following their individual continental bouts.
The Azzurri Roster and Podiums Chase in Serbia
Despite deploying a developmental lineup, the Italian delegation targets a podium finish to defend the team’s standing following a silver medal performance earned a year ago. The selected roster features Giulia Carnà and Michela Terranova in the -57 kg division, Nadia Simeoli and Serena Ondei in the -70 kg category, and Tiziana Marini alongside Erica Simonetti in the +70 kg division. On the men’s side, Fabrizio Esposito and Federico Bosis will contest the -73 kg category, Tiziano Falcone enters the -90 kg bracket, and Francesco Basso alongside Kwadjo Anani round out the selections in the +90 kg division.
While prior editions acted as an immediate team continuation of the individual European Championships held in Georgia last April, the 2026 calendar forces coaches to balance senior team ambitions with ongoing World Tour commitments.
Context in Italian Autumn Judo
Earlier in the competitive window, Italian prospects featured at the U23 European Championships hosted at the Palavesuvio in Naples from October 30 to November 1, where athletes like Giulia Carnà—who pulls double-duty across age groups—and Manuel Parlati led the national delegation among participants from 35 nations, as noted in coverage by zazoom.it. Meanwhile, senior mainstays have split their travel between Olympic qualification stops, such as the world championships held in Baku from October 4 to 11, and regional World Tour stops.
Competition at the Aleksander Nikolic Hall begins on Saturday, November 7, 2026, with preliminary rounds leading into the medal blocks for the mixed team European title.
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