Tbilisi opens with instant pressure as Europe’s lightweights take center stage

April 16 brings the European Championships in Tbilisi straight into high gear. Four categories launch the event—women’s U48kg and U52kg, then men’s U60kg and U66kg—and none of them look like they will allow a slow start. With Olympic medallists, world champions and long-running rivalries on the mat, the smallest opening can decide everything.

In women’s U48kg, the spotlight lands on Shirine Boukli. The reigning European champion and Olympic bronze medallist arrives with a flawless European Championships record: four appearances, four gold medals. That kind of consistency puts a target on her back from the first exchange.

Europe’s challengers are loaded. Assunta Scutto enters as the reigning world champion and has already shown she can beat Boukli when it matters most. Sweden’s Tara Babulfath adds another layer of danger—early in her career, yet already an Olympic and world bronze medallist, and improving fast. With names like Sabina Giliazova and Laura Martinez Abelenda also in the mix, and a 22-athlete field stacked with top-ranked judoka, the draw promises quick, sharp contests.

U48kg rarely forgives a single mistake.

Women’s U52kg feels like a meeting point of history and rivalry. Kosovo’s Distria Krasniqi returns as defending champion, but France’s Amandine Buchard remains one of the division’s most threatening forces. Italy’s Odette Giuffrida, a world champion and multiple Olympic medallist, brings the kind of experience that turns tight matches. Add strong contenders like Reka Pupp and Roza Gyertyas, and the depth becomes impossible to ignore.

On the men’s side, U60kg is described as wide open even with some absent names. Olympic medallists Luka Mkheidze and Francisco Garrigos bring proven composure, while reigning world champion and defending European champion Giorgi Sardalashvili competes at home with expectation and opportunity—plus a balanced rivalry with Garrigos.

Men’s U66kg mixes depth with local emotion: Finland’s Luukas Saha comes in as top seed after recent world and European podium finishes, while Olympic medallists Vazha Margvelashvili and Denis Vieru, and reigning European champion Daikii Bouba, keep the gold race tight.

Day one in Tbilisi looks built for big moments, not warm-ups.

Source: JudoInside