European Judo Championship 2025 in Podgorica: national team, composition, broadcasts Judo

On Wednesday, April 23, the European Judo Championships (Montenegro). It is the second largest tournament of the season after the World Cup and the first major competition of the new Olympic cycle after Games 2024 in Paris.

The tournament in the capital of Montenegro will last five days. During this time, 15 sets of medals will be played – in 7 weight categories among men and women, as well as in the team tournament.

Athletes of the national team of Ukraine, who regularly succeed in the European arena, are among the contenders for medals.

25 years in a row – with medals

Ukrainian judoists have last returned from the European Championship without medals in 1999. And since 2000, at least one award from the European Championship has been made. Thus, the team was not left without medals at 25 European Championships in a row. And this year the tournament should be 26th.

In the last Olympic cycle, after the Tokyo-2020, only three championships took place-coronavirus made its changes to the calendar. But in these three years we had our champions and prize -winners. In 2022, Bogdan Yadov (up to 66 kg.) Became the strongest in his weight category, in 2023 Yadov won bronze, and the halmatov (up to 60 kg.)-silver, and in 2024, three months before the Olympiad in Paris, the champion of Europe.

However, later in Paris, at the main start of the four years, Ukrainians failed to achieve a medal result. Neither the male part of the team nor the female, including the 2-fold world champion, 4-fold European champion and Tokyo-2020 bronze medalist. And now the team has some sense of misunderstanding. And the tournament in Podgorica will be the first great Post -Lip’s start.

Changes Judo to football?

The beginning of a new Olympic cycle has traditionally leads to significant changes in team warehouses. The national team of Ukraine was no exception. An unpleasant surprise for the fans was the absence of a long -term leader Daria Bilodid in the national team. Yes, the athlete for the first time won the European Championship 2017, and the World Cup-2018. But she went down in history as the youngest world champion in judo. And now she is only 24, in many it is a period of heyday of careers.

However, after the failure in Tokyo 2020, where there was only « bronze instead of the expected gold, and a failure in Paris, where the athlete was left without a reward, Daria decided to pause. Now the titled judoist is engaged in … football. Last Friday, April 18, Darya made her debut in a new sport at a professional level. Bilodid for the first time went to the field as part of Metalist 1925 In the match of the Higher League of the Championship of Ukraine among women.

The judoist appeared on the football field at the very end of the match, in the 88th minute, replacing the striker Elizabeth Moloduk and taking her place on the edge of the attack. Within a few seconds, teammates brought Bilodi-to-face with a goalkeeper, but Daria kissed the ball directly into the goalkeeper, and the judges recorded an offside.

However, the multiple world champion and Europe emphasizes that the transition to football is temporary, and it will definitely return to judo. Even in the current European Championship, he does not participate.

Without winners of the last euros

Also, the team will not be Yadova and Khalmatov, the winners of the latest European Championships, but Jacob Hammo came into the composition. Our titled veteran (in June it will be 31) will try to repeat the bronze success of the European Games of Baku-2015. He is also a two -time bronze medalist at the World Cup.

An experienced can also be called 28-year-old Artem Lesyuk, a multiple winner of the Grand Prix series and the Great Helmet. Just like 29-year-old Anton Savitsky.

However, most of the current national team of Ukraine is a young team collected « for the future ». The new Olympic cycle begins and to Los Angeles-2028, these athletes will have enough time to gain experience of big starts. The titled athletes will return to the team closer to the games. In addition, in Paris, our team has failed and it takes time not only for physical but also psychological recovery.

In the absence of legendary Riner but with other « Olympion »

The European Championship 2025 will be the first major tournament to be held in the absence of the legendary Frenchman Teddy Rineer. The 12th World Champion and the 5-time European Champion, in Paris-2024 won its fourth and fifth gold Olympic awards. After winning in London-2012, Rio-2016 and Tokyo-2020, at home he first won a personal tournament and then a team, with a decisive point a decisive point.

And immediately after Games in Paris, a 35-year-old (at that time) athlete announced his career. What, let’s agree, is quite logical.

Meanwhile, the current European Championships will come to the current European Championships and winners of Paris-2024. In Podgorica, Zidaayat Heidarov and Zelim Kotzoev-Olympic champions from Azerbaijan, Georgia Lasha Bekauri champion, as well as winners of the last Olympics Luke Mheidze, Joan-Benzamen Garas, Maxim-Gael. .

But the women’s tournament will be missed by all three Olympic champions-2024 from Europe. In Podgorica, neither Andrey Leshie from Slovenia, nor Barbara Matich (Croatia), nor Italian Aliche Belland.

FDU

Without « neutral » will not do

The IJF Executive Committee (International Judo Federation) made a decision to allow athletes from Russia and Belarus to participate in competitions as neutral athletes. And at Czech 2024 they were very noticeable, winning 5 awards (3 gold). However, it was not in 2024 and without a scandal with the participation of « neutrals »: when the IOC dismissed from participation in games in Paris leading judoists, observed in the support of the war, the team decided not to go to the Olympics at all.

Unlike the IOC, there are no claims against IJF. And in 2025 they will come to the European Championship again. For officials of the International Judo Federation, war in the center of Europe is not an obstacle to the participation of citizens of the aggressor country in the tournament.

The composition of the national team of Ukraine

The men’s team contains representatives of six weight categories of seven. However, we have a double representation in the overtrays. In turn, the women’s team of Ukraine is represented in four weight categories, but two of them also double representation.

Men: Artem Lesiuk (60 kg), Nazar Skikov (66 kg), Said-Magomed Halidov (73 kg), Vladislav Kolobov (81 kg), Anton Savitsky (100 kg), Jacob Hammo and Yevgeny Balevsky (more than 100 kg)

Women: Anastasia Antipina (63 kg), Anna Oliynyk-Korniyko and Olga Tykhko (70 kg), Yulia Kurchenko (78 kg), Ruslana Bulavina and Christina Goman (more than 78 kg).

Where to look

The European Judo Championships in Ukraine will be available on the European Judo Youtube channel. The competition will begin on Wednesday, April 23, at 10:00 am Kyiv time.