Opponents Revealed for Seven Portuguese Judokas at Tbilisi Europeans

The draw for the European Judo Championships, set to take place in Tbilisi, Georgia, has proven favorable for the seven Portuguese athletes competing. Otari Kvantidze, in the -73 kg category, is the sole Portuguese judoka seeded in the tournament.

The competition kicks off this Thursday at the Olympic Sports Palace, with three Portuguese athletes in action. Maria Siderot (-52 kg), making her sixth European Championship appearance, will face Czech Republic's Tereza Bodnarova, ranked 95th globally, in her opening bout. Should she advance, the Portuguese judoka will then contend with the world number one and Olympic champion, Distria Krasniqi from Kosovo.

On the same day, Bernardo Tralhão (-60 kg), making his senior European Championship debut, will go head-to-head with Spain's Luís Barroso Lopez (world No. 47). Meanwhile, Miguel Gago (-66 kg) is set to challenge Lithuania's Simas Polikevicius (world No. 152).

Thursday, April 16

First Round

• -52 kg: Maria Siderot (56th) vs Tereza Bodnarova (95th)

• -60 kg: Bernardo Tralhão (116th) vs Luís Barroso Lopez (47th)

• -66 kg: Miguel Gago (57th) vs Simas Polikevicius (152nd)

  Friday, April 17

  Second Round

• -73 kg: Otari Kvantidze (26th) vs Elbaz Yehonatan (52nd)/Vlad Mitru (267th)

  Saturday, April 18

  Second Round

• -70 kg: Bárbara Timo (62nd) vs Sinem Oruc (79th)

  Sunday, April 19

  Second Round

• +78 kg: Rochele Nunes (78th) vs Emma-Melis Aktas (16th)

  First Round

• +100 kg: Diogo Brites (110th) vs Karl Priilinn Turk (69th)

In a squad affected by several injury-related absences, Otari Kvantidze (-73 kg) stands out as the most favored athlete, holding the seventh seed. The Sporting judoka will make his debut on Friday, awaiting the winner of the clash between Israel's Elbaz Yehonatan (52nd) and Moldova's Vlad Mitru (267th).

Olympic athletes Bárbara Timo (-70 kg) and Rochele Nunes (+78 kg) are scheduled to compete over the weekend. On Saturday, Timo (world No. 62) will face Turkey's Sinem Oruc (79th). On Sunday, Rochele Nunes (78th) will contend with Estonia's Emma-Melis Aktas, who is the seventh seed and ranked 16th globally.

The Tbilisi European Championships will run until Sunday, featuring 400 judokas (227 men and 173 women) representing 46 countries.