Tbilisi’s seedings set the mood: Europe’s stars arrive with streaks, pressure and unfinished business

Judo never promises a script, but the 2026 Senior European Championships in Tbilisi (16–19 April) are already loaded with storylines. The top seeds arrive with form, rankings and the kind of confidence that only comes from winning when it matters.

Seeding helps, but Tbilisi will still demand answers.

A major European headline sits at -48 kg: Shirine Boukli of France. The Paris 2024 bronze medallist comes in as reigning champion with a perfect European record so far—four appearances, four titles, including gold in 2025. Add her Paris Grand Slam win earlier this year, and the big question is simple: can anyone stop the streak?

At -52 kg, Distria Krasniqi of Kosovo is the definition of reliability. Olympic champion at -48 kg in Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 silver medallist at -52 kg, she returns as reigning European champion and world number one. Her medal run across recent events underlines why she’s become the benchmark in the category.

France also leads -73 kg through Joan-Benjamin Gaba, the reigning world champion and Paris 2024 silver medallist. He hasn’t returned to the podium since his world title, but with two senior European bronzes already, he’ll be chasing the timing that separates champions from contenders.

The Netherlands bring two key top seeds: Joanne van Lieshout (-63 kg), world champion in 2024 and European bronze medallist in 2025, and Jur Spijkers (+100 kg), the 2022 European champion. Spijkers doesn’t arrive with a huge Grand Slam collection, but his 2026 run—three medals from three events—signals a real resurgence after a tougher period.

Home mats can lift you into history.

Georgia’s crowd will pour energy into Eteri Liparteliani (-57 kg), who made history in 2025 as her nation’s first female world champion and now aims to add the senior European individual title after finishing second last year. And in -90 kg, double Olympic champion Lasha Bekauri brings his high-risk, high-reward style back to Tbilisi, where momentum can swing in a heartbeat.

European attention also lands on Croatia’s Lara Cvjetko (-70 kg), the world number one and a world silver medallist, who has built a strong results base since mid-2024. Italy’s Alice Bellandi (-78 kg) arrives as Olympic champion and top seed, with the European title still the major prize missing from her collection.

Azerbaijan stack the seeds in multiple men’s categories with Balabay Aghayev (-60 kg) and Ruslan Pashayev (-66 kg), both coming in with strong recent wins. Elsewhere, Timur Arbuzov (-81 kg) leads his division as world and European champion, while Zelym Kotsoiev (-100 kg) is seeded top on the back of his biggest titles. In +78 kg, Raz Hershko (Israel) tops the women’s heavyweight seedings, with France’s multi-time European champion Romane Dicko looming as the rival she’s still chasing on this stage.

Source: EJU_News