Private/SME
Abu Dhabi May 23, 2024
The Japanese team regained the top spot in the individual competitions at the World Judo Championship – Abu Dhabi 2024, which concludes tomorrow, Friday, at the “Mubadala Arena” with the holding of the mixed team category. The closing date comes after a week full of events for the event, which is being held for the first time in the Emirates with unprecedented historical participation.
The Japanese team raised its tally to 7 colored medals, 2 gold, 2 silver and 3 bronze at the end of the fourth round, during which 137 male and female players competed in the under-90 kg competitions for men, and under 70 and 78 kg for women, amid a large crowd attending who interacted enthusiastically in the stands.
Japanese Juki Tajima won the gold medal in the men’s under-90 kg category, at the expense of Serbian Nemaniamedov, who won the silver medal. The bronze medal went to Spaniard Tristanimoskhishvili and Kyrgyzstan’s Erlanshirov, which is the first medal for Kyrgyzstan in the history of its participation in the world championships.
In the same category, the Lebanese Karamanobsagaypov achieved the best Arab results so far, as he reached the semi-finals before losing the bronze medal match.
Meanwhile, our national team player, Aram Gregorian, won his first match against Romanian Vlad Visan, then lost in the next round to Belgian Sami Shoshi.
At the conclusion of the competitions of this category, the winners of this category were crowned by Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad bin Saif Al Sharqi, President of the Emirates Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation, and Kolindagra Parkitarovic, former President of Croatia.
France dominated the women’s under-70 kg category, with Pino Margao winning the gold medal, and her compatriot Marie-Yves Guy winning the silver medal, both of whom competed in the final, while the bronze medal went to Japanese Shiho Tanaka and Russian Madina Taimazova.
The winners in this category were crowned by Mohammed bin Thaloub Al Darei, Chairman of the Organizing Committee of the World Judo Championship – Abu Dhabi 2024, President of the Emirates Judo Federation, and Nicolas Nemcheanu, Ambassador of the Republic of France to the country.
German Anna-Maria Wagner won the gold medal in the women’s under-78 kg category, at the expense of Italian Alice Bellandi, who won the silver medal. The bronze medal went to French Madeleine Malonga and Britain’s Emma Reid.
Nasser Al-Badour, Vice President of the UAE Judo Federation, participated in the award ceremony for this category.
German Anna-Maria Wagner expressed her happiness at achieving double excellence after also ensuring qualification to the next Olympic Games, and she said: “It was not just about qualifying for the Olympics. I wanted to fight for everything and be dominant in this category and achieve the gold medal. “It was a battle for me at the world championship level, and the Olympics will come later in time.”
Tomorrow, Friday, the “mixed team” competition will be held, amid an expected competition between Japan and France, as it was noteworthy that the Japanese team won the gold medal in all the past six editions since 2017, while the French team came in second place in the last five editions in a row, except The French team won the gold medal at the expense of the Japanese team in the last Olympic Games in Tokyo, which raises the intensity of the conflict between them as the countdown to the start of the Summer Olympics in Paris begins.
The “10 Dan” appears for the first time in Abu Dhabi
During the tournament, the International Judo Federation honored the French legend Jean-Luc Rogge, by awarding him the “10 Dan” black belt grade, which is the highest ever in this game and awarded for the first time in history to any figure in this sport, in appreciation of his efforts and perseverance in spreading and developing this sport.
Rouge is considered the first French player to win a gold medal in the World Judo Championships, in 1975, in addition to winning the European Championship title four times. He also previously assumed the presidency of the French Judo Federation in 2005, and also served as Secretary-General of the International Judo Federation between 2005 and 2005. 2011 and 2023.
Roja received the special degree from Marius Weiser, President of the International Judo Federation, amid applause from male and female players participating in the competitions.
Special medal for British Reid
Regardless of Britain’s Emma Reid winning the bronze medal in the under-78 kg weight category, she felt extremely happy as it was her first medal in the World Championships, and she continues to experience joy whenever she comes to Abu Dhabi, where she had previously won the gold medal in the Grand Championship held here in 2017. 2021.
Reed spoke with joy after the coronation, and spoke proudly about her descent from a family that loves judo, and said: “My father and my mother are both judo players. My mother also previously won the world championship, and they currently manage the Melbourne Judo Club in the east of England together, and this is the club that I started.” Playing the game at the age of five.
He added: “I enjoyed judo and continued to practice it for that. For a long time, I was always looking to develop my performance before anything else. Medals are the cherry on top of the cake, and they always give additional motivation to continue working.”
Kyrgyzstan celebrates the historic medal
The Kyrgyz delegation lived in a festive atmosphere after winning the first medal in the current World Championship, by Erlancherov in the under-90 kg weight.
Abduljalil Yunusov, coach of the Kyrgyz national team, said: “It is something we live for. I have already mentioned my dream of developing the team so that we gain respect and appreciation in the world judo arena, and finally it has been achieved. Our goal was to get a medal. We have never gotten a medal before.” “We waited many years to make it a reality.”
He continued: “Our goal now is to obtain an Olympic medal. In order for the dream to be complete, we will prepare to compete in the next Olympic competitions from now, and we hope to achieve victory there as well.”
“Al-Wadhihi” spreads joy among the masses
The tournament’s mascot, Al-Wadihi, spread joy
