Jevgenija Gajić was the first Slovenian to step onto the tatami in Linz, facing France’s Chloe Devictor in the first round of the under-57 kg category. The Slovenian started the bout well and created several dangerous situations, but was unable to score. Midway through the contest she received a penalty for a false attack, while half a minute later the French judoka was penalised for passivity, leaving the score level at the end of regulation time.

The winner was therefore decided in golden score. Gajić appeared more active in the extra period and repeatedly stayed ahead of her opponent in exchanges, but after nearly two minutes she made a mistake. Just as Devictor initiated a low seoi-otoshi attack, the Slovenian opted for a body technique and ended up on her back. After reviewing the action on video, the referees awarded the decisive yuko to the French judoka.

“My goals were higher, but it is what it is. You learn more from mistakes than from victories, so we move forward,” Gajić said after the match. She added: “I felt like I had everything under control, but sometimes things go wrong exactly when you think everything is fine. In the end, I lost because of my own mistake.”

Despite the defeat, the 20-year-old from Koroška remains optimistic. “I’m even more motivated now to show more at the next competitions. I know I’m capable of more at major events,” she said. Next on her schedule are training camps in the Czech Republic, after which she hopes to compete at the European Championships.

In the men’s under-60 kg category, Slovenia was represented by Gal Blažič and David Štarkel. Blažič faced fourth seed Csanad Feczko of Hungary in the opening round. The 25-year-old Hungarian, ranked 30th in the world, used his physical strength from the very first exchange and threw Blažič onto his side for waza-ari. The experienced Hungarian quickly added two yukos, and after the second Blažič made a mistake by standing up too quickly. Feczko capitalised with a low technique to score another waza-ari and advance to the round of 16.

“I came here to gain new experience in the senior category. I was hoping to win at least one match, but unfortunately I faced a very experienced opponent right away, ranked 30th in the world. He was physically stronger and kept getting ahead of me,” said the 18-year-old Slovenian judoka. He added that he had prepared for the opponent: “I watched his matches and studied his style, but unfortunately it wasn’t enough today.”

Blažič will continue the season with a training camp in Nymburk, followed by the Grand Slam in Tbilisi. “There I’ll try to gain more experience and hopefully win a match or two. I’d also like to achieve the qualification standard for the World Championships, although I know it will be difficult.”

Štarkel’s opponent was a familiar rival, Kazakhstan’s Sherzod Davlatov, whom he had previously faced in the final of the European Open in Podčetrtek in 2024. Just like then, Davlatov proved stronger again. He took the lead after one minute with a body technique. Štarkel tried to establish a strong grip, but the Kazakh prevented it effectively and sealed the victory late in the bout with a foot technique for yuko.

“Unfortunately I lost. We know each other well from training camps and we already fought once before in Podčetrtek. If I compare that match with this one, the previous one was much better. Today simply didn’t go my way,” Štarkel said. He explained that both fighters tried to neutralise each other’s right-hand grip: “He was better at that today, and that’s why he won.”

The 29-year-old has nevertheless had a strong start to the season. “I’ve already competed in three international tournaments this year and achieved three good results – seventh place in Paris and two medals, one bronze and one silver. I also had high expectations here, but the draw was tough,” he said.

The last Slovenian competitor on the opening day was Nika Tomc, bronze medallist from last year’s Grand Prix in Zagreb. The 19-year-old Slovenian began her campaign after a first-round bye with a victory over Great Britain’s Acelya Toprak. After both judokas received one penalty in regulation time, the match went into golden score, where each received another penalty. Tomc proved more active and, after more than eight minutes of fighting, forced her opponent into another false attack to secure the win.

In the round of 16 she faced Croatia’s Dora Bortas, whom she had defeated in last year’s European Open final in Sarajevo. This time the Croatian came out on top, capitalising on a moment of inattention midway through the bout and throwing the Slovenian onto her back with a ko-uchi-gari.

On Saturday, Kaja Kajzer and Leila Mazouzi (both –63 kg), Martin Hojak (–73 kg) and Igor Tsurkan and Aljaž Plantak (both –81 kg) will represent Slovenia at the TipsArena in Linz. On Sunday, Metka Lobnik (–78 kg) and Gal Bertalanič Žižek (–100 kg) will also take to the tatami.