The cadet European Cup season kicked off this weekend in Rome, where a 19-member Slovenian team took part. The medals were secured by Maks Čebulj in the up to 81 kg category and Val Berglez Kos in the up to 90 kg category.

As the fourth seed in his category, Čebulj had a bye in the first round and opened the competition with a quick victory by submission against a home competitor. In the round of 16, the young Slovenian judoka faced a French opponent and, although he was trailing by a yuko halfway through the bout, he managed to turn the match around just over a minute before the end by executing a well-timed low technique to throw his opponent onto his back, advancing to the quarterfinals. There, he met a Slovak judoka who proved no match for him, as Čebulj progressed to the semifinals with two waza-ari scores.

In the semifinals, Čebulj faced Estonian Daniel Tammin. The Slovenian took the lead after one minute with a yuko and then, midway through the bout, scored an ippon with another successfully executed low technique, seoi-otoshi, securing his place in the final.

Čebulj’s final opponent was another Estonian, Joosep Toomel. He defeated him as well with an ippon, celebrating his first-ever medal at a cadet European Cup.

Alongside Čebulj, a medal in Rome was also claimed by his club teammate Val Berglez Kos. Like Čebulj, he was seeded fourth in his category and received a bye in the first round. In the second round, he defeated a home judoka with a yuko in golden score. In the round of 16, Berglez Kos faced an Israeli opponent, whom he first threw for a yuko with a kata-guruma and then finished with an ippon. His quarterfinal opponent was Spaniard Pablo Fernandez Calero, who proved too strong, as Berglez Kos lost the bout after three minutes by submission.

The young Slovenian continued the competition in the repechage, where he faced a series of French opponents. He defeated the first with an ippon after three minutes using the seoi-otoshi technique, overcame the second by submission, and then defeated Mehdi Khabir with an ippon in the bronze medal match.

With this result, he claimed his second bronze medal at cadet European Cups, having already reached the podium last year at the home event in Kranjska Gora.