European U23 Judo Championships day 1: Nahapetyan finishes fifth
Vahe Aghasyan finished seventh at 60 kg, while Arshak Bekhchyan (66 kg) and Artak Torosyan (73 kg) lost their opening contests. Armenia’s four entrants ended the October 30 opening day in Naples without a medal.
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Shavarsh Nahapetyan came closest to a medal for Armenia on the October 30 opening day of the 2026 European Under-23 Judo Championships in Naples, Italy, but lost his bronze-medal contest to Georgia’s Luka Gadelia. All four Armenian entrants finished without a medal.
The individual events have 275 judokas from 36 countries competing.
| Judoka | Men’s category | Finish |
|---|---|---|
| Shavarsh Nahapetyan | 60 kg | Fifth |
| Vahe Aghasyan | 60 kg | Seventh |
| Arshak Bekhchyan | 66 kg | Lost opening contest |
| Artak Torosyan | 73 kg | Lost opening contest |
How Nahapetyan reached the bronze contest
Nahapetyan began by beating a Polish opponent before losing to an Italian in the quarterfinals. The repechage gave him another route to bronze: he defeated a Hungarian opponent to earn the contest against Gadelia.
Aghasyan beat opponents from Austria and Germany before losing to an Israeli judoka in the quarterfinals. A defeat against a French opponent in the repechage ended his medal chances.
Bekhchyan’s opening defeat came against Gagik Martirosyan, who represented Ukraine. Martirosyan went on to reach the semifinals, where he lost to an Azerbaijani opponent, then lost his bronze-medal contest to a Serbian judoka. Torosyan lost his opening contest to a Hungarian opponent.
Two more Armenian judokas scheduled
Sportaran lists two more Armenian judokas scheduled to compete on 31 October. The championship runs through 1 November.
| Judoka | Men’s category |
|---|---|
| Tigran Sarukhanyan | 81 kg |
| Gor Karapetyan | 100 kg |
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