Russian Judo Team Wins European Team Championship for the First Time Since 2019

Gold in Belgrade

The Russian judo team won the European Team Championship in Belgrade on November 7, defeating Georgia in the final. Life.ru describes the match as a victory for the Russian athletes, while Gazeta.Ru reports the final score — 4:1. For the national team, this is the second title in the history of the mixed European team championships: the first was won in 2019, meaning the current gold is the first in seven years.

Road to the final and team roster

On the way to the decisive match, the Russians did not lose a single individual bout: in the quarterfinals they crushed Austria 4:0, and in the semifinals they beat Turkey by the same score. According to Gazeta.Ru, the team included Elise Startseva (70+ kg), Valery Endovitsky (90+ kg), Irina Zueva (under 57 kg), Buyan-Kherel Sanaa (under 73 kg), Tamara Lishchenko (under 70 kg) and Timur Arbuzov (under 90 kg). Thirteen national teams took part in the tournament; the matches are held in a mixed format — men and women in six weight categories.

The opponent and the context of the flag's return

Georgia came into the tournament as the reigning European champion: it won the 2025 team championship and had previously taken gold in the mixed format three times. The victory over the reigning champion is especially notable given the team's status: since April 2023, Russian judokas had competed in IJF-sanctioned tournaments in a neutral status, and only on November 27, 2025, did the federation's executive committee restore their right to compete under the national flag and with the anthem — judo became the first Olympic sport to fully return national symbols to the Russians. Thus, this is the first European team gold won by the team already under the flag. Earlier, in October, the Russians reached the final of the World Team Championship in Baku, where they lost to Japan 1:4, having defeated France and Uzbekistan along the way; Inal Tasoev won gold in the individual competition.