Paris, 24 October. The Kazakh professional judo club JENYS won the third-place match at the ECC Champions League 2026 club tournament in Paris and became a bronze medallist for the second year in a row.
The Champions League is the European Judo Union's club tournament and in effect a European championship for clubs. Men and women compete for the same team in six weight categories, and if the score is level after the main bouts, an extra bout decides the match. The teams included Olympic champions and world championship medallists.
According to the final results, ten clubs took part in the tournament at the Dojo de Paris. France's PSG Judo won, Serbia's Red Star Belgrade came second, and JENYS shared bronze with France's AC Boulogne-Billancourt. Below the Kazakh club came three more French clubs, Russia's Judo Club Konar and Azerbaijan's Judo Club 2012, which competed for the first time. For PSG Judo it was a third win in a row, and for Red Star a third straight final.
Last year JENYS also finished third, at the Champions League in Belgrade. Among the club's other notable results is the victory of its judoka Abylaikhan Zhubanazar at the Grand Slam in Lausanne, Switzerland, at the end of August: in the up to 81 kg category he beat Uzbekistan's Arslonbek Tozhiyev in the final.
In two years the Kazakh club has never left the Champions League without bronze, and Paris's PSG never without gold.
What it means: The Kazakh club has established itself in the top three of the leading club judo tournament, where almost all its rivals are European teams.
Who benefits: JENYS and its athletes get a podium place and experience of team bouts with Europe's strongest clubs. Kazakh judo gets another platform for its fighters besides national team events.
Background: The Judo Champions League has been held in the mixed-team format since 2024: the first edition was in Montpellier, the second in Belgrade, the third in Paris; PSG Judo won all three.
