Dubrovnik’s home roar as Karla Kulić finally turns silver memories into U78kg gold

Dubrovnik got the kind of opening-day story that sticks: Karla Kulić delivered Croatia a home gold in women’s U78kg, finishing a chapter that had been left frustratingly unfinished. She had come close here before, but this time she didn’t let the top step slip away.

A home crowd moment that felt years in the making.

For Kulić, the result lands as a personal milestone built on steady progress. Her European Cup résumé already included silver in Dubrovnik in 2021 and Athens in 2022, plus junior medals in Lignano and Sarajevo. She broke through with gold at the Junior European Cup in Prague in 2023, and then kept adding senior podiums in Celje, Riga and Sarajevo. Earlier in 2025, she also earned silver at the European University Combat Championships in Warsaw.

In a U78kg division with 13 competitors, Kulić sealed the title by beating Lebanon’s Aqulina Chayeb in the final. Europe also filled the bronze positions: Croatia’s Petrunjela Pavic and Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Korina Dzidic both stepped onto the podium.

Across Saturday, seven different nations took gold, underlining how international the European Cup in Dubrovnik is. In men’s U60kg, Mexico’s Eduardo Sagastegui won the final against Kazakhstan’s Damir Bolatbekov, while Germany’s Benjamin Howard claimed bronze alongside Türkiye’s Emirhan Karahan.

Men’s U66kg went to Israel as Guy Gutman defeated Croatia’s Dani Klacar, with Hungary’s Sebestyen Kollar and Switzerland’s Freddy Waizenegger taking bronze. The biggest field was men’s U73kg with 35 athletes: Kazakhstan’s Daniyar Shamshayev won gold over France’s Maxime Gobert, and France added another medal through Eliot Preve as Germany’s Joseph Lehniger also secured bronze.

On the women’s side, Türkiye took U63kg over Croatia’s Nina Cvjetko, and women’s U70kg produced an all-Czech final with Anna Skalska beating Lucie Zarybnicka, while Croatia’s Jana Cvjetko and Slovenia’s Nika Koren earned bronze. Moldova closed the day with +78kg gold through Oxana Diacenco.

Source: JudoInside