Western Australian judoka Vas Middleton (Perth Judo Club) and Oren Kelly (UWA Judo Club) gained valuable international experience during consecutive appearances at the Prague and Paks Junior European Cups.
The two events attracted strong international fields, with Middleton contesting the men’s under-66kg division and Kelly competing in the women’s under-57kg category.
Across the two weekends, the young Australians recorded four victories while facing several athletes who progressed into the final placings—including two eventual finalists.
Prague Junior European Cup
The tour began at the Prague Junior European Cup in Czechia on 4 July. Middleton entered a 41-player under-66kg field, while Kelly faced 29 opponents in the under-57kg division.
Vas Middleton – Men’s under-66kg
Following an opening-round bye, Middleton met Bulgaria’s Preslav Nikolov in the round of 32.
Nikolov secured the victory by ippon after three minutes and 18 seconds, sending Middleton into the repechage after the Bulgarian progressed through the pool.
Middleton was drawn against Korea’s Lee Jaejun in the first repechage contest. The official draw records Lee advancing but does not provide a score or contest time, indicating that the bout was not completed under normal scoring conditions.
Nikolov, who initially defeated Middleton, continued through to the bronze-medal contest and finished fifth. Lee was subsequently defeated by Lithuania’s Adris Jakubauskas and finished outside the final placings.
Oren Kelly – Women’s under-57kg
Kelly made an impressive start to her competition, defeating Israel’s Noa Hadar by ippon in just 38 seconds.
Her next opponent was Ukraine’s Neonila Momot. The Ukrainian scored twice to win by two waza-ari after only 42 seconds, sending Kelly into the repechage.
Momot went on to win the gold medal, defeating Germany’s Luna Semoud in the final.
Kelly returned for a repechage contest against Brazil’s Victoria Frade. The match extended into golden score before Frade prevailed after four minutes and 14 seconds, with the final scoreboard showing a waza-ari and yuko to Kelly’s yuko.
Frade progressed further through the repechage and ultimately finished seventh, while Kelly’s Prague campaign concluded with one victory from three contests.
Paks Junior European Cup
One week later, Middleton and Kelly returned to competition at the Paks Junior European Cup in Hungary. Another sizeable international field awaited them, with 42 athletes entered at under-66kg and 29 at under-57kg.
Vas Middleton – Men’s under-66kg
Middleton again received an opening-round bye before facing Serbia’s Srdjan Miljic in the round of 32.
The WA judoka produced a disciplined four-minute performance, scoring a waza-ari and managing the remainder of the contest to earn his first victory of the tour.
Middleton then met Hungary’s Ferenc Fedora in the round of 16. Neither athlete could secure a decisive score during regulation time, taking the contest into golden score.
After five minutes of total contest time, Fedora found the winning yuko to advance. Middleton had received two penalties but remained in the match until the decisive score.
Fedora was defeated by eventual silver medallist Sebestyen Kollar in the quarter-final and then lost to Romania’s Antonio Nitu in the repechage, finishing outside the top seven. Because Fedora did not reach the semi-finals, Middleton did not receive a repechage opportunity.
Oren Kelly – Women’s under-57kg
Kelly also began her Paks campaign with a bye before meeting American Harlee Hiller in the round of 16.
The contest went the full four minutes, with Kelly scoring two yukos and conceding no score. Her controlled victory moved her into the pool final against Daria Kuptsova.
The Russian judoka ended the contest by ippon after two minutes and one second, but her progress to the final gave Kelly another opportunity in the repechage.
Kuptsova ultimately collected the silver medal after being defeated by Romania’s Vanessa Tolea in the final.
Kelly’s repechage opponent was Canada’s Nicole Daria Manaila. Kelly scored a yuko during the four-minute contest, but Manaila’s waza-ari proved decisive and brought the Australian’s competition to an end.
Manaila advanced to the first bronze-medal contest before finishing seventh. Kelly concluded the Paks event with one victory from three matches.
Valuable international experience
While neither athlete reached the medal rounds, the results alone do not reflect the value of the tour.
Middleton and Kelly contested two demanding European Junior Cups in the space of eight days, adjusting between opponents with different gripping styles, tactical approaches and competition experience.
Kelly recorded two international victories and faced the eventual Prague champion and Paks silver medallist. Middleton also earned a strong four-minute victory in Paks and gained valuable exposure against established European opposition.
The tour provided both athletes with important contest time and a clearer understanding of the level required on the international junior circuit—experience they can now carry into their next stage of preparation.
Competition details and draws: Prague Junior European Cup – IJF and Paks Junior European Cup – IJF.
