Dubrovnik drama: Croatia’s finals push falls just short as Türkiye tops the table

The European Senior Cup Dubrovnik 2026 wrapped up with a late shake-up in the medal standings. Türkiye finished as the top nation, leaving Croatia to chase hard despite a big home surge. The Czech Republic ended the event with two gold medals, while the hosts took third overall thanks to a solid spread of one gold, four silvers and three bronzes. France and Kazakhstan also stayed in the mix near the top, underlining how deep this European Cup circuit is.

For Croatia, day two was all about razor-thin margins. Dominik Družeta (-90 kg) and Borna Butijer (-100 kg) both reached their finals, and both walked away with silver after battles decided by the smallest scoring moments. Dora Bortas (-57 kg) delivered one of the weekend’s biggest adrenaline spikes, sealing bronze in the final second of her contest.

Home mats don’t guarantee gold, but they can lift a whole team.

One of the loudest moments came in the -100 kg semi-final: an all-Croatian clash between Butijer and Ivan Rozga. They knew each other’s game, and it showed in a tense, momentum-swinging fight. Butijer edged in front with a Waza-ari, Rozga answered with a Yuko, and the outcome stayed open right until the end. Backed by the Dubrovnik crowd, Butijer held on to book a final spot and also reverse the feeling of an earlier loss at the national championships.

In the final, Butijer met Italy’s Accogli, a former junior European champion and U23 continental titleholder. The Croatian started with energy and strong grip work, but couldn’t turn that into a decisive score. With the match balanced deep into the closing seconds, Accogli found a Yuko that proved enough to take the win.

Bortas’ path to the podium was built on clean finishes: she scored Ippon victories over Hungary’s Vég and Switzerland’s Gertsch before falling just short of the final against Hungary’s Igaz. In the bronze contest against Serbia’s Salkarbek Kizi, she kept pushing until the last second, when she finally secured the result.

Družeta again looked like a reliable medal threat in -90 kg, moving through a demanding draw with wins over France’s Metifiot, and fellow Croatians Ivan Brnada and Tin Straža. His semi-final ended in an Ippon win over Hungary’s Miklosvolgyi, but the final against Serbia’s Rutović turned into a gripping duel where chances came and went. One Yuko against him was the only difference.

Croatia left Dubrovnik with medals, momentum, and that feeling of being close to something bigger.

Source: EJU_News