The draw ceremony for the European Judo Championships Junior Podgorica 2026 has been held in Podgorica, Montenegro. The draw determined Azerbaijan's first opponents at the continental tournament scheduled for September 3-6. Azerbaijan will be represented by 14 judokas across 10 weight categories, including nine boys and five girls.
The tournament features athletes from 44 countries. The European Judo Union lists 409 judokas for this year's championships. The individual competitions will be held from September 3 to 5, while the mixed team event is scheduled for September 6.
On the opening day, the women's -48kg, -52kg and -57kg categories and the men's -60kg and -66kg categories will be contested. In the women's -48kg category, Nargiz Ahmadova will face Mariana Pereira of Portugal in the Round of 32, while Gulgez Musayeva will meet Ksenia Vainer of Moldova in the same round. In the -52kg category, Aysun Mammadova will take on Margarita Miroshnichenko of Ukraine in the Round of 32.
In the -57kg category, Ayten Verdiyeva will face Marketa Korcakova of Czechia in the Round of 32. Khadija Gadasheva has advanced directly to the Round of 16, where she will meet the winner of the bout between Nika Tomc of Slovenia and Luka Veg of Hungary. In the men's -60kg category, Ayhan Mirzazada will face Stratos Charalambous of Cyprus in the Round of 32.
In the -66kg category, Mahammad Musayev will meet Robert Yakimov of Estonia in the Round of 32. Musayev is among the leading judokas in the category and enters the championships as the defending junior European champion. In the -73kg category, Abil Yusubov will take on Kassim Brosso of France in the Round of 32.
In the -81kg category, Jasur Ibadli will face the winner of the bout between Yagor Talaka of Belarus and Serhii Karakin of Ukraine. Mehdi Abbasov will meet Petar Pajovic of Montenegro in the same round. In the men's -90kg category, Aslan Kotsoyev will face Anton Dimitrov of Bulgaria, while Suleyman Shukurov will take on David Yurkowski of France.
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