This Thursday, April 16, judoka Miguel Gago had the best performance among the Portuguese competing on the first day of the European Championships in Tbilisi, finishing ninth in the -66 kg category, after two fights.
Gago, 22 years old and who competed in his third European Championship, won, by ippon, the Lithuanian Simas Polikevicius (152nd), with whom he had lost the only time they fought, in the under-23 European Championship, in 2025.
After a good debut, the judoka from Rio Grande do Sul saw the demands increase, facing the current European runner-up in the category, the Russian Murad Chopanov, eighth in the world and third favorite, in a fight that was decided in the details.
Gago gave a good response, but, one minute from the end and at a time when there was a simultaneous attack from the judokas, he suffered a yuko (lowest score), in a blow in which he avoided greater harm by falling face down on the tatami.
Racing against time, the judoka from Académica de Coimbra took a risk and there, more exposed, suffered another yuko, ending his participation in Tbilisi, while Chopanov continued victorious, in two more matches, and will fight for the gold.
Previously, Bernardo Tralhão (-60 kg) and Maria Siderot (-52 kg) fell in their debut matches, with the two Portuguese judokas already giving up on the ‘golden score’, after the initial four minutes of combat.
Maria Siderot, who competed in her sixth European Championship, left the mat ‘destroyed’ at the Olympic Sports Palace, in a fight in which she dominated in the first three minutes and everything seemed headed towards victory.
The 29-year-old judoka had two advantages, ‘waza-ari’, in the first few seconds, and yuko, the third score in judo, after ippon and waza-ari, but saw the Czech Tereza Bodnarova draw very close to the end.
A first deconcentration by the Portuguese judoka allowed the Czech to score for yuko and, with 23 seconds to go, the referee table reversed a second yuko for waza-ari, dragging the fight to a draw and ‘golden score’.
In extra time, a period in which the first judoka to score wins, Siderot suffered another waza-ari and said ‘goodbye’ to the Europeans in the capital of Georgia.
The same outcome for Tralhão, aged 23, who, in his absolute debut at the European Championships, still forced the extra period, in a fight mostly on the ground [técnicas de ne waza]but ended up suffering waza-ari from Spaniard Luís Barroso Lopez.
The Tbilisi European Championship takes place between Thursday and Sunday, at the Olympic Sports Palace, and features 400 judokas (227 men and 173 women), from 46 countries, with Portugal still competing Otari Kvantidze (-73 kg), on Friday, Bárbara Timo (-70 kg), on Saturday, and Rochele Nunes (+78 kg) and Diogo Brites (+100 kg), on Sunday
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