Russia End Seven-Year Wait to Claim European Mixed Team Judo Crown in Belgrade

Russia end seven-year wait in Belgrade

The Russian Federation won the European Mixed Team Judo Championships in Belgrade on Saturday, beating defending champions Georgia 4-1 in the final at the Aleksandar Nikolić Hall and claiming the continent's mixed team crown for the first time in seven years.

It was Russia's second mixed team European title and its first since the 2019 European Games in Minsk, a gap the team's judoka described on their return home as the start of something bigger rather than a one-off triumph.

Thirteen teams entered the one-day championships, and the final paired the tournament's two most contrasting journeys: Georgia, the holders, had survived two gruelling ties to reach the gold-medal match, while Russia had swept through the knockout rounds without conceding a single individual bout.

The title also carries weight beyond Belgrade. Points earned at the championships count towards qualification for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games, with the European Judo Union confirming that Belgrade points will carry 50 percent of their value in the final ranking, and towards the 2027 European Games in Istanbul.

How the final was won

The final began with an advantage Russia did not have to fight for. Georgia had no representative in the over-70kg category, so Elis Startseva was awarded the opening point without a contest and Russia led 1-0 before a throw had been attempted.

Georgia struck first on the mat at over-90kg, where Irakli Demetrashvili scored a yuko against Valeriy Endovitskiy. The lead lasted only moments: Endovitskiy answered with a stunning ko-soto-gake for ippon, and Russia doubled their advantage to 2-0.

Irina Zueva then put Russia within one win of the title at under-57kg. Facing Eteri Liparteliani, she broke through with a well-timed counterattack for yuko as the contest entered its final minute, then added a second score from ko-uchi-gake and held firm until the final gong to make it 3-0.

Georgia refused to fold. Olympic medallist Lasha Shavdatuashvili, facing Buian-Kherel Sanaa at under-73kg, produced a last-second o-uchi-gari for yuko with both judoka carrying two shidos, cutting the deficit to 3-1 and keeping the holders alive.

The decider fell to the under-70kg contest between Nino Gulbani and Tamara Lishchenko. With the European title hanging in the balance and Gulbani carrying two shidos to Lishchenko's one, the Russian struck with 30 seconds remaining, a perfectly timed counter earning a yuko that put her team one victory from the crown. Gulbani had precious little time to respond, and Lishchenko managed the closing seconds to seal a 4-1 win.

Georgia's gruelling road to the final

Georgia arrived in Belgrade as defending champions, having won three of the seven European mixed team titles contested since the format was introduced in 2018, and their path to the final lived up to that billing.

The holders beat Hungary 4-2 in the quarter-finals before edging France 4-3 in a semi-final decided by a golden score contest. With the tie locked at 3-3, the draw selected the under-73kg category, and Shavdatuashvili found the decisive score at 4 minutes 20 seconds of extra time to send Georgia through.

Russia's route was altogether more serene. They swept Austria 4-0 in the quarter-finals and repeated the scoreline against Türkiye in the semi-finals, reaching the gold-medal match without conceding a single individual bout in either tie. Timur Arbuzov opened the semi-final against Türkiye at under-90kg, and Zueva again delivered in the women's under-57kg contest as Russia completed a second consecutive whitewash.

Bronze for Türkiye and France, heartbreak for the hosts

The bronze-medal contests produced two very different dramas. Türkiye denied hosts Serbia 4-1, with Hilal Ozturk winning a golden score contest against Milica Zabic by shime-waza in the over-70kg opener and Recep Ergin doubling the lead within the opening minute at over-90kg with an ura-nage for ippon against Vidak Maljevic.

Marica Perisic gave Serbia hope with an osae-komi in the closing seconds of the under-57kg contest, but Muhammed Demirel and Fidan Ogel closed out the tie for Türkiye, leaving the hosts fifth. France took the second bronze 3-2 against Germany in a decider that went to the final contest, where Aleksa Mitrovic held off Dominic Ressel at over-90kg after an earlier under-57kg bout had ended in a rare double hansoku-make, with neither team awarded a point.

What the title means

For Russia, the significance was not lost on the team. Endovitskiy said the gold could mark the beginning of new victories for Russian athletes at international competitions, while Zueva described the victory as a special event and an incentive for new achievements. The team flew home to Moscow on Sunday, greeted at Sheremetyevo Airport with flags and applause.

The result also underlines how open the mixed team format has become. Georgia remain the most successful nation in its short history, but Russia's dominant run through Belgrade — no individual bout conceded before the final, and only one lost in the gold-medal match itself — suggests the balance of power in European team judo is shifting. The next test of that claim comes quickly, with ranking points from Belgrade already feeding the road to Los Angeles 2028.