The first Junior European Cup of the season is taking place this weekend in Sarajevo, bringing together 304 judokas from 21 countries. Already on the opening competition day, the Slovenian national team celebrated an excellent achievement, winning three medals — all of them claimed by female competitors.

The tradition of Slovenian success in the under 63 kg category was once again confirmed by Nika Tomc, who competed one weight category higher than usual. After receiving a bye in the first round, the 19-year-old Slovenian judoka defeated Montenegro’s Vedrana Praščević with two waza-ari scores, and then overcame Serbia’s Jelena Nisavić in the quarterfinals.

In the semifinals, an all-Slovenian clash followed, as Tomc faced Neža Mesiček. Although Mesiček took the lead with a waza-ari, Tomc quickly equalised. The finalist was decided in golden score, where Tomc scored the decisive point after just 20 seconds, securing her place in the final and another bout against a Slovenian opponent.

In the final, Tomc was joined by fellow Slovenian Ilariia Tsurkan. As the top seed in the category, Tsurkan had a bye in the first round and advanced to the final with victories over opponents from Turkey, Serbia and Italy.

After just over a minute of fighting in the final, Tomc celebrated victory. She first threw Tsurkan with an uchi-mata for waza-ari and then finished the contest with a hold-down, securing her second victory at Junior European Cups.

Leila Mazouzi secured Slovenia’s third medal in Sarajevo. Like her club teammate Tomc, Mazouzi also competed in a higher weight category on this occasion, moving up to the under 70 kg division. The 19-year-old Slovenian delivered an outstanding performance in groundwork, forcing three opponents to submit in quick succession with arm locks.

Her winning streak came to an end only in the final, where Serbia’s Aleksandra Andrić proved superior with a hold-down. Mazouzi thus added her fourth medal from Junior European Cups, her second silver medal and her second in the under 70 kg category.

In addition to Tomc and Tsurkan, Neža Mesiček and Paulina Selan also competed for medals in the under 63 kg category. After their opening wins, the two faced each other in the quarterfinals, with Mesiček emerging victorious. Following her semifinal loss, Mesiček fought for the bronze medal against Germany’s Sveyarike Konrad. Although the Slovenian took an early lead with a yuko, Konrad equalised after a minute and a half. After just over three minutes of contest, Konrad scored with a leg technique to claim third place.

After her quarterfinal loss to Mesiček, Paulina Selan continued the competition in the repechage, where two victories earned her a bronze medal match against Italy’s Giorgio Frosoni. The decisive moment came after two and a half minutes, when Selan attacked with an uchi-mata, but Frosoni countered to score a yuko. Despite Selan’s efforts to equalise until the end of the contest, she was unsuccessful and, like Mesiček, finished the tournament in fifth place.

The only Slovenian male judoka to fight for a medal was Vid Valant in the under 73 kg category. The Ljubljana native recorded four consecutive victories before losing in the semifinals to the eventual category winner, Russia’s Abdurakhman Bekeev. In the bronze medal match, Valant was also defeated by another Russian competitor, Nikita Obukhov.

With three medals and three fifth-place finishes, the Slovenian junior national team ranked as the second most successful team after the first competition day in Sarajevo.

Nika Tomc, Leila Mazouzi and Neža Mesiček will also compete next weekend at the home senior World Cup event — the Ljubljana European Open 2026.