World Cadet Championship 2026

On August 16, we flew to Guayaquil with Team NL, a long journey of about 14 hours.

The first few days were dedicated to acclimatizing, recovering from jet lag, going through the official protocols, and completing the final training sessions.

An important difference compared to European competitions is the direct knockout system. Only by reaching the quarter-finals do you get the chance to return to the tournament via the repechage.

I won my first two matches convincingly, against an Argentinian and a Saudi. In the quarter-final, I unfortunately lost narrowly to a strong Kazakh, who eventually finished second in the world. In the repechage, I subsequently fell short against the Frenchman, the eventual number three, after a questionable situation.

In the end, I finished the tournament with four strong matches and a nice 7th place at the World Championship.

This marks the end of my season in the -50kg category, during which I gained valuable experience at European Cups, the European Championships, and the World Championships. The coming period will be dedicated to rest and recovery, after which the focus will shift to the new season in the -55kg category as a final-year cadet.

Thanks to everyone for the support, sponsorship, and involvement this season!