Promising Ukrainian judokas change sports citizenship: what is behind the decision.

Several promising Ukrainian judokas have refused to represent Ukraine internationally. This was reported by 'Hlavkom' citing the Base of Ukrainian sports.

Performances of Ukrainian judokas on the international stage

According to inkorr.com: 16-year-old Ilaria Tsurkan, one of the most promising young athletes in judo, won a silver medal at the cadet World Championship representing the Slovenian team.

The Ukrainian team missed these competitions due to a possible boycott.

Her brother, Ihor Tsurkan, will also now compete for Slovenia at the international level. Recently, another Ukrainian judoka, Oleksii Boldyrev, obtained Polish citizenship.

Successes of Ukrainian athletes at the European Youth Olympic Festival

It is worth noting that Ukraine placed 10th in the overall medal standings of the festival, winning 5 gold, 8 silver, and 10 bronze medals.

This is the second most successful performance by Ukraine in the history of participation in the Festivals since 1993! The 'blue-yellow' team won more medals only in 2019 - then there were 25 awards. The most successful sport was judo - our athletes won six medals, including bronze in the mixed team tournament on the final competition day.

In addition to judo, medals for Ukraine were brought by athletes in such disciplines as swimming (2 gold, 2 silver, and bronze), athletics (gold, silver, and 2 bronzes), taekwondo (2 silvers and bronze), shooting (silver and bronze), rhythmic gymnastics (silver and bronze), and table tennis (bronze).

The refusal of Ukrainian judokas to represent the national team at international competitions indicates their desire to compete for other countries. This may point to existing problems in the Ukrainian Judo Federation, especially against the backdrop of the overall success of other sports abroad, which may negatively impact the development of judo in Ukraine.