Mia Manukyan Wins Junior European Judo Cup in Skopje

Germany’s Mia Manukyan won the Junior European Judo Cup held in Skopje on August 8–9.

Manukyan claimed the gold medal in the -78 kg category. In the final, she defeated her compatriot and German national team-mate Zina Schreiber.

Following the competition, Manukyan said she was pleased to see her hard work pay off.

“I am very satisfied. I have trained a lot and worked hard to get to this point. The final was very difficult for me because I fought against my national team colleague. However, I was very well prepared today and managed to use a wide range of techniques,” Manukyan said.

The judoka also highlighted the high level of competition in Skopje.

“The competition was very tough and there were some very strong opponents, but I was well prepared and, during the contests, I managed to apply different techniques. The final was definitely the hardest contest for me. The atmosphere was wonderful and everything was very well organised. However, I stayed focused and prepared for my contests,” she added.

Manukyan competed under the guidance of Luciano Corrêa, the 2007 world champion in the -100 kg category. The Brazilian coach praised his athlete’s performance.

“Mia was very well prepared and competed at the right level today. The biggest challenge came when Mia was behind by a yuko. However, we managed to stay focused and eventually win,” Corrêa said.

Another medal at the tournament was won by France’s Johnny Ozmanyan, who claimed bronze in the -66 kg category.

The competition took place in the capital of North Macedonia and brought together judoka from 32 countries. The tournament was one of the final opportunities for young athletes to test their form ahead of the Junior European Championships.

Armenia did not participate in the competition.