Young Judo Hopes Tournament Begins in Sarajevo, Olympic Medalists Also Arrive

(Patria) - By organizing the Tournament of Young Hopes, which began today in Sarajevo, and the Kodokan seminar, which started on Friday, the Judo Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina has rounded off a year-long competition cycle, the premiere edition of which was held in the capital of our country.

Unlike last year's competition, this time, in addition to competitors up to 15 years of age, judokas up to 13 years of age will also participate.

The importance of this tournament and the Kodokan seminar is best illustrated by the number of participants in the first session of the seminar, which was attended by 469 judokas on Friday evening, as well as the fact that two Olympic medalists are working with them. For the young judokas, it was an opportunity to acquire new knowledge from great judo figures and to forge new friendships.

The presence of the President of the European Judo Union (EJU), Laszlo Toth, who, accompanied by Branislav Crnogorac, Director for Development at the European Judo Union, attended the first session of the Kodokan seminar, best confirms how important what will happen in the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the coming days is for the European Judo Union.

- A year ago, I had the idea of how to develop young judokas, and then we created the Tournament of Young Hopes in Europe. I am very pleased to be able to welcome top coaches such as Nakamura Misato and Maria Centracchio. Last year, there were competitors up to 15 years old, and this year we decided to include the under-13 age group as well, thus giving more opportunities
to everyone. I hope that in the future this program will help young people enjoy the sport of judo - said Laszlo Toth, the head of the EJU.

Incidentally, Japan's Nakamura Misato and Italy's Maria Centracchio are Olympic medalists. In addition to three world golds and one bronze in the under-52 kg category, the Japanese judoka also won two Olympic bronzes (2008 and 2016), while Centracchio won a bronze medal at the Olympic Games in Tokyo.

Incidentally, a total of 383 competitors from 17 countries will participate in the Tournament of Young Hopes, which began today and lasts until tomorrow.