Sport: The judokas from Strassen are fighting in the Champions League

On December 21st, seven athletes from the Judo Club Strassen will represent the Grand Duchy in the Champions League – the first Luxembourg club to do so. «We will be the underdogs. With an average age of 20, our team is very young, so every fight and even every point won will be a victory. We want to give a lesson for life,” announced the club’s coach and technical director, Arnaud Grisier, on Tuesday when presenting the team that is on the verge of making history.

“Registration for this tournament is carried out by the national associations,” explains club president Tom Schmit (32). «This year we achieved the double at the national championships, where both the men’s and women’s teams won the title. This is our advantage because not all clubs would be able to field both male and female athletes. In Montpellier, the tournament will be held for the first time in mixed teams consisting of three women and three men.”

The competition is open to athletes of all nationalities as long as they are part of a European club. In addition to the Georgian world champion Luka Maisuradze and the Japanese Sanshiro Murao, silver medalist at the Olympic Games in Paris, the Strasseners could also meet French stars such as Romane Dicko and Teddy Riner from PSG.

“I’m a bit stressed, that’s true, but above all I’m happy,” says Lora Schroller, who is competing in the under 70 kilogram weight class. “It’s an opportunity, especially when you see which athletes are taking part, like Marie-Ève ​​Gahié (editor’s note: Olympic champion with the team and two-time European champion), who I follow on Instagram,” adds the 18-year-old added.