Competing at the Olympic Palace in Tbilisi, the two members of JK Impol Slovenska Bistrica stepped onto neighbouring mats at the same time, with David Štarkel fighting on Mat 1 and Gal Blažič on Mat 2.
For 29-year-old Štarkel, it was already his eighth appearance at the European Championships. In a repeat of their meeting two years ago, he faced Ukraine’s Artem Lesiuk in the opening round. The contest was closely fought from start to finish, with both judoka creating chances, especially in ne-waza, but the decisive moment came only seconds before the end. Lesiuk scored with tomoe-nage to seal the win and bring Štarkel’s campaign to an early close.
"There is nothing positive I can say. When you lose a match in the very last second, it feels really bad. Lesiuk is a familiar opponent. We fought two years ago at the European Championships as well, again in the first round. Back then it was over after a minute, this time in the last second. It’s a pity. We know each other well, we both knew where the danger was, and he used it better," said Štarkel afterwards.
Reflecting on the decisive action, he added: "I knew a few seconds earlier, when we took grips, that he was going to attack with tomoe-nage. I had already been caught by that twice in Zagreb. I knew it was coming and wanted to be ready for it, expecting a false attack, but he executed it very strongly. I tried to escape, but under the new rules, once you are in the air, there is no other outcome but a score."
Much of the bout unfolded in groundwork, where both athletes came close to securing a hold.
"At one point in ne-waza I was close to freeing my leg and putting him into a hold-down. To be fair, he was also close once, when I was hanging on only by a finger before the referee stopped the action, so I had a bit of luck there. But I also had one or two good chances when I had him under control, only for him to keep hold of my leg. The truth is that after that second attack my legs were gone. In the end that made the difference — my legs felt like chewing gum," he said.
The opening day was also special in that Štarkel and Blažič were competing simultaneously at a European Championships for the first time.
"We shook hands, wished each other good luck, and that was it," said Štarkel, who was able to watch his teammate’s match after finishing his own. "When I saw he was still out there, I watched and cheered for him. It’s a pity. He came up just short, but he was close, and he still has a lot ahead of him."
After Tbilisi, Štarkel’s main goals for the season remain the Mediterranean Games in Taranto at the end of August and the World Championships in Baku in October.
For Gal Blažič, the event marked his senior European Championships debut. The 19-year-old faced Italy’s Andrea Carlino in the first round and produced a strong performance against the experienced Olympian. After an evenly contested regulation period, the match went into golden score, where both judoka had their opportunities. After three and a half minutes of extra time, Carlino found the winning action with ouchi-gari, ending Blažič’s first senior European Championships appearance.
"I didn’t really feel any special pressure or fear, because I already know these fighters and have faced many of them before. I have already competed in several senior events this year, so I wouldn’t say it felt completely new. But this was still my first Senior European Championships, so I am proud to have qualified, even if I’m disappointed it didn’t go my way," said Blažič.
Speaking about the contest, he added: "My opponent is more experienced and also an Olympian. We had already met a few times in training, so we knew each other. I watched his matches, just as I’m sure he watched mine. I think I had a good tactical plan, but unfortunately I got confused in golden score and he caught me with ouchi-gari."
Having turned 19 just a month ago, Blažič will now shift his focus back to the junior season, where the Junior European Championships and Junior World Championships remain his key targets for the year. Later in the season, he is also expected to continue gaining senior experience at the Zagreb Grand Prix.
On day two in Tbilisi, Slovenia will be represented by Nika Tomc and Jevgenija Gajić in the women’s -57 kg category, Kaja Kajzer and Leila Mazouzi in the women’s -63 kg category, and Martin Hojak and Urh Ogrizek in the men’s -73 kg category.
