The Remscheider TV judo team starts with a home fight in the Bundesliga.

Remscheid. It feels like it was only a few days ago that the Remscheider TV judo team celebrated its greatest triumph to date. The win of the German team championship was duly celebrated again at the official reception in the Remscheid town hall. However, the judo team will not rest on its laurels. It has already announced that it wants to defend the title in the 2025 season.

RTV meets Berlin at the start

This mission starts on March 15th. Then the RTV welcomes the newly promoted JC Berlin. The first away match will take place on April 12th at SU Witten-Annen. The other dates have already been set. April 26: Hamburger JT (H); May 31: UJKC Potsdam (A); June 28th: ​​KSC Spremberg (A); August 23rd: Hertha Walheim (H). The Final Four, which is probably the minimum goal for the Remscheid team, will take place on October 25th.

Personnel planning has been completed

Personnel planning has also been completed around a quarter of a year before the start of the Bundesliga. Former world-class judoka Karl-Richard Frey and Alexander Wieczerzak will continue to act as trainers. However, the latter will no longer be on the mat himself. As did Jasper Lefevere and Daniel Stamm, who also ended their active careers. Mortaza Suha is moving to Hamburg. In contrast, there are four new additions to the German champions: Maxim Taran, Bogdan Iadov, Manuel Lombardo and Vedat Albayrak.

Ukrainian European champion is coming

Bogdan Iadow comes from Ukraine and is used up to 66 kilograms. The 28-year-old won the title at the European Championships in 2022, won medals at Grand Slam tournaments and reached the round of 16 at the Olympic Games in Paris.

Italian newcomer reaches quarter-finals in Paris

The Italian Manuel Lombardo (-73 kg) also competed there and had to admit defeat in the quarter-finals. In 2021, the 26-year-old won the silver medal at the World and European Championships.

Georgians have a checkered past

31-year-old Vedat Albayrak (-81 kg) has a checkered past. The Kazakhstan-born Georgian began his sporting career as Roman Moustopoulos in Greece and took part in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio. He has been playing for Turkey under his current name since 2018 and was also present at the games in Tokyo and Paris. He won bronze at the 2018 World Cup. The title at the 2021 and 2023 European Championships.

Maxim Taran fights in the weight class up to 60 kilograms and comes from Wiesbaden.

RGA