Ukraine finished the 2026 EKF Cadet, Junior & U21 Championships on top of the medal table, closing an emotional final day in Limassol, Cyprus. Fans watched Europe’s future stars take their first major continental titles after a weekend of intense karate action.
Cadet Kata Female – Candela Pena Garcia
Spain’s Candela Pena Garcia delivered a sharp and confident performance. She beat Neda Beljkas of Montenegro 5-0 to secure the gold.
Cadet Kata Male – Razvan George Florea
Romania celebrated through Razvan George Florea. He edged Salvador Valente of Portugal 3-2 in a tight final.
Cadet Kumite Male -52 kg – Mark Dorosh
Ukraine’s Mark Dorosh won a thrilling bout. He defeated Edoardo Cafiso of Italy 6-5 after a fast and open contest.
Cadet Kumite Female -47 kg – Salome Kakutia
Salome Kakutia of Georgia claimed gold in a tactical final. She beat Hanna Maistrenko of Ukraine 1-0.
Cadet Kumite Male -57 kg – Ioan Tanev
Bulgaria’s Ioan Tanev controlled the final from start to finish. He beat Achille Giuliani of Italy 8-3.
Cadet Kumite Female -54 kg – Sofiia Elii
Ukraine added another title thanks to Sofiia Elii. She won 1-0 against Kira Kaloeva of WKF-1.
Cadet Kumite Male -63 kg – Raffaele Baldassarre
Italy’s Raffaele Baldassarre delighted the crowd. He beat Emil Almekhametov of WKF-1 4-3.
Cadet Kumite Female -61 kg – Anna Volik
Anna Volik of WKF-1 dominated the final. She defeated Diana Popova of Ukraine 4-0.
Cadet Kumite Male -70 kg – Cullen Brodie
Scotland celebrated gold through Cullen Brodie. He edged Riccardo De Gregorio of Italy 2-1.
Cadet Kumite Female +61 kg – Madalena Santos
Portugal’s Madalena Santos held her nerve. She beat Lanika Rexhepi of Albania 1-0.
Cadet Kumite Male +70 kg – Omar Gogrichiani
Georgia closed the cadet division strongly. Omar Gogrichiani defeated Nemanja Mladenovic of North Macedonia 4-2.
Junior Kata Female – Rita Marques
Portugal continued its strong kata tradition. Rita Marques beat Giulia Manca of Belgium 5-0.
Junior Kata Male – Vasco Mateus
Another clean sweep for Portugal. Vasco Mateus won 5-0 against Angel Leon De La Jose of Spain.
Kata Team Cadet & Junior Female – France
France took gold in a close final. They beat Spain 3-2 after a tense decision.
Kata Team Cadet & Junior Male – Italy
Italy showed depth and precision. They defeated Spain 5-0 in the final.
Junior Kumite Female -48 kg – Iliana Komini
Greece’s Iliana Komini impressed with speed and timing. She beat Vierionika Kotenko of Ukraine 4-1.
Junior Kumite Male -55 kg – Maksym Viechkanov
Ukraine claimed gold after a scoreless final. Maksym Viechkanov beat Vusal Ganbarov of Azerbaijan by “Hantei” or decision.
Junior Kumite Female -53 kg – Veronika Gashnikova
Veronika Gashnikova of WKF-1 was dominant. She beat Leonor Goncalves of Portugal 8-0.
Junior Kumite Male -61 kg – Filip Hornak
The Czech Republic celebrated a narrow win. Filip Hornak took gold against Filip Mabic of Croatia after a 4-4 draw.
Junior Kumite Female -59 kg – Hannah Bath Soendergaard
Denmark’s Hannah Bath Soendergaard controlled the final. She beat Morgane Scarfone of France 8-0.
Junior Kumite Male -68 kg – Aladdin Malikov
Azerbaijan’s Aladdin Malikov won by “Hantei” or decision. He edged Serhii Stankov of Ukraine after a 0-0 draw.
Junior Kumite Female -66 kg – Elize Bauld
Scotland added another medal. Elize Bauld beat Uliana Baranova of Ukraine 2-0.
Junior Kumite Male -76 kg – Richard Turcanik
Slovakia’s Richard Turcanik secured gold. He defeated Mihai Cristian Doloman of Romania 1-0.
Junior Kumite Female +66 kg – Una Rakovic
Montenegro celebrated a dramatic win. Una Rakovic beat Nicole Correddu of Italy 6-5.
Junior Kumite Male +76 kg – Vuk Vucinic
Another title for Montenegro. Vuk Vucinic defeated Vladyslav Rudenko of Ukraine 6-1.
U21 Kata Female – Paola Garcia Lozano
Spain returned to the top of the podium. Paola Garcia Lozano beat Mai Linh Bui of France 5-0.
U21 Kata Male – Ivan Martin Montenegro
Spain doubled up in U21 kata. Ivan Martin Montenegro beat Anthony Vu of Sweden 4-1.
U21 Kata Team Female – Czech Republic
The Czech Republic delivered a strong final and beat Spain 5-0.
U21 Kata Team Male – Italy
Italy closed the kata events in style. They defeated France 4-1.
U21 Kumite Female -50 kg – Ulyana Markava
Ulyana Markava of WKF-2 won on points advantage. She beat Ludovica Legittimo of Italy after a 3-3 draw.
U21 Kumite Male -60 kg – Balsa Vojinovic
Montenegro added another gold. Balsa Vojinovic beat Guido Squillante of Italy by “Hantei” or decision after a 1-1 draw.
U21 Kumite Female -55 kg – Nina Kvasnicova
Slovakia’s Nina Kvasnicova controlled the bout. She beat Helena Backovic of Montenegro 5-2.
U21 Kumite Male -67 kg – Matej Belistojanoski
North Macedonia celebrated gold. Matej Belistojanoski beat Georgios Baliotis of Greece 2-0.
U21 Kumite Female -61 kg – Beata Girvica
Latvia finished on top in a close final. Beata Girvica beat Altana Basangova of WKF-1 2-1.
U21 Kumite Male -75 kg – Simon Seckar
Slovakia added another gold as Simon Seckar beat Ricardo Franken of the Netherlands 3–1.
U21 Kumite Female -68 kg – Eirini-Grigoria Katsika
Greece’s Eirini-Grigoria Katsika won 4–2 against Teodora Krstovic of Serbia.
U21 Kumite Male -84 kg – Lukas Bohunicky
Slovakia’s Lukas Bohunicky closed a strong day with a 9–4 win over Sinan Paljevac of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
U21 Kumite Female 68+ kg – Dariia Bulay
Ukraine’s Dariia Bulay beat Dora Fleischer of Hungary 6–1 in the heavyweight final.
U21 Kumite Male 84+ kg – Alexander Davies
Luxembourg’s Alexander Davies ended the championships with a 7–2 win over Oleksandr Kozyliian of Ukraine.
The final day in Limassol closed the 2026 EKF Cadet, Junior & U21 Championships with emotion, focus, and belief. New names stood on the top step, and for many of the youngsters competing in Limassol, this was just the beginning. The future awaits to the up-and-coming new stars of the sport in Europe.
2026 EKF CADET, JUNIOR & U21 CHAMPIONSHIPS
Relive the EKF Cadet, Junior & U221 Championships on WKF YouTube Channel