Daniil Kremerman (-66 kg) and Lasha Tsatsalashvili (-73 kg) were Canada’s two stars of the day at the Junior European Cup in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, winning bronze medals in their respective weight categories on Saturday.

Kremerman was the first to achieve the feat. After winning his first two bouts against Fran Sedmak and Luka Katic, both of Serbia, the Québécois saw his chances of winning gold slip away when he was defeated by Hilmi Mucik of Turkey, who later clinched the coveted medal.

However, Kremerman did not give up. He came back in full force in the bronze medal final, where he ousted Abdulsamet Cakir, also of Turkey.

“Daniil dominated his first two bouts before bowing out to the eventual gold medallist. He made a little error that cost him the match. But after that, he employed good strategy in the [bronze medal] final to win it. It was one of his best days so far,” said Canadian coach Sasha Mehmedovic.

In the same weight category, Fahd Fitane defeated Petar Kozul of Bosnia in his first bout, before losing to Mucik in the quarter-final and then to Toni Barisic of Croatia in the repechage.

After having competed in the under-81 kg category for a certain period, Lasha Tsatsalashvili returned to the under-73 kg weight division. Like Kremerman, Tsatsalashvili was brilliant in his first two bouts of the day today, before losing his third to Viktor Skerlev of Bulgaria, who went on to win the silver medal.

In the repechage, the Canadian had to win three bouts in a row to get his hands on the hardware. He defeated Emre Yazgan and Yucel Goker, both of Turkey, as well as Maxim Malsch of Germany.

“As [Lasha] advanced through his bouts, he seemed to become more and more confident. In the bronze medal final, he didn’t appear stressed at all. It was a great way to kick off our trip to Europe,” added Mehmedovic.

Also in the under-73 kg category, Artem Neyolov finished the day with a record of one win and two losses, while Félix Mercier-Ross was defeated in his only match of the day.

Victor Dessureault competed in the under-60 kg division in Sarajevo on Saturday. He lost his first and only bout of the day to Mehmet Sahin Ertem of Turkey.

The Junior European Cup will continue on Sunday. Canadians Marie-Lune Turmel (-48 kg), Heidi Quach (-48 kg), Evelyn Beaton (-52 kg), Tigran Kryvytskyi (-81 kg), Yehor Paladji (-90 kg), Faniry Michael Andriamanana (-90 kg), and John Jr Messé A Bessong (+100 kg) will hit the tatamis in Sarajevo.