It isn’t every day that Lithuania’s anthem rings out at a major judo event, but on day three of the European Youth Olympic Festival 2025 in Skopje, it echoed proudly through the venue as Tajus Babaicenko stood atop the -81kg podium.
The Lithuanian judoka battled his way through a demanding draw and faced a stern test in the final against Ukraine’s Mykhailo Solianyk. The two exchanged strong attacks in regulation time, neither able to land a decisive score. As golden score began, the intensity remained high. A minute and a half in, Babaicenko seized a narrow opening with a sharp ko uchi gari, scoring yuko. Unsure whether the technique had registered, he held back from celebrating until it was confirmed — and then the emotion poured out.
“Actually it feels really good,” Babaicenko said. “I was hoping to win because I lost in the Cadet European Championships, so today I just thought: I have to win. It was strength to strength, I’d do an attack, he would do an attack and it just went on and on, then in golden score I got a yuko, but I stayed calm because I didn’t know if it was a score or not.”
His bronze medal a month ago in the very same venue had lit a fire — but the push came from his inner circle.
“My motivation, well that came from my friend, Majus Genys [-90kg], he was Cadet European Champion and he told me, ‘Tajus, you have to win! You have to represent Lithuania!’ and I really believed that I could win this today. My parents, they’re watching me, and I know how they want me to win, so it was from them as well.”
With Zygimantas Karalevicius also taking a bronze in the -66kg category, Lithuania’s judo team is making a strong impression on the EYOF medal table. “I’m proud I can do this for my team,” Babaicenko said. And with that, he added a rare but memorable chapter to Lithuania’s judo story.
In the -73kg category, Veljko Varnicic of Serbia added another gold to his growing collection, following up his Cadet European title with victory in Skopje. The road wasn’t easy. Just before one of his matches, his close friend and teammate Nikola Obradovic suffered a heavy fall and an apparent head injury.
“I didn’t feel so much pressure coming into this competition, but I did feel it in my second match,” Varnicic explained. “My best friend, we train at the same club, and he was competing right before me. He had a real fight and landed badly on his head. I was nervous, I was about to cry, and I thought I need to control myself.”
Support came from senior Serbian athlete Aleksandar Kukolj, who helped Varnicic reset emotionally. “He really helped me, so I want to say thank you. I actually want to say that this medal is for my friend — I hope he is doing good!”
In the final, Varnicic came up against Vasil Gamezardashvili (GEO), a strong grip fighter who had disrupted many of his opponent’s rhythms throughout the day. With the clock winding down and two penalties each, Varnicic produced a decisive uchi mata with just six seconds left.
“That was a hard match,” he said. “Honestly, my plan was to make him take a third shido because I didn’t know if I could throw. Then it ended up being a throw! I didn’t plan for it to be, that’s why I didn’t celebrate right away.”
With his momentum intact, Varnicic now turns his focus to the Cadet World Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria, later this summer.