While the World Judo Tour paused to allow for the continental championships, Europe opened the ball with the first day of the European Judo Championships Seniors Podgorica 2025 in Montenegro. Four categories were in action and four new European champions were announced, although not all were exactly new.
Shirin Boukli (FRA)

France won two out of the four titles at play, while Kosovo and Georgia each enjoyed a glorious moment. In the -48 kg category, Shirin Boukli (FRA) won her fourth continental title, defeating Portugal's Catarina Costa once again. After her final, the Frenchwoman declared, "“Of course I am happy to have won my fourth title but this one felt really important. It meant a lot to me. I took the bronze medal at the Olympic Games, a silver medal in the Bercy Arena and I really, really needed this gold and I’m so happy that I won here today; a European championships is a big deal." The two bronze medals went to Assunta Scutto (ITA) and Andrea Stojadinov (SRB).

Ayub Bliev vs Giorgi Sardalashvili

In the -60 kg category, things remained undecided for a long time. It wasn't until the start of golden score that Giorgi Sardalashvili (GEO) dashed Ayub Bliev's (IJF) hopes of winning gold with an o-uchi-gari rewarded with a yuko. The two bronze medals went to Ahmad Yusifov (AZE) and Luka Mkheidze (FRA), who thus completed his European collection with bronze after the gold and silver medals of previous editions.

Distria Krasniqi vs Odette Giuffrida

In the -52 kg category, defending champion Distria Krasniqi (KOS) won again after registering two fine yuko scores against her opponent, two-time Olympic medallist Odette Giuffrida (ITA). The bronze medals went to the Netherlands with Naomi Van Krevel (NED) and Spain with Ariane Toro Soler (ESP).

Murad Chopanov vs Daikii Bouba

The final category of the day featured a magnificent final between Daikii Bouba (FRA) and Murad Chopanov (IJF), with the former winning in golden score after a final ko-uchi-gari attack. Finland's Luukas Saha and France's Walide Khyar also reached the podium.

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