Idman.biz
Activity in world judo peaks in early May. This is due not only to ranking tournaments, but also to the scheduling of the calendar. The Grand Slam tournament will start in Dushanbe tomorrow, and today the International Judo Federation (IJF) announced that another prestigious competition will be held.
İdman.Biz reports that we are talking about the World Masters, one of the most prestigious competitions in the international calendar. In the world judo tour, this tournament, along with the world championships, brings together the strongest athletes in an exclusive format, who participate by invitation based only on the ranking.
The Masters tournament is attended by the top 36 judokas in the world ranking in each weight category. There is no limit to the number of participants from one country. Moreover, the award points are quite high: the winner gets 1800 points, the silver medalist 1260, and the bronze medalist 900 points. Thus, the Masters plays a decisive role in shaping the world ranking and the hierarchy in international judo. The tournament has already been included in the Olympic qualification and will be held on December 18-20. With this, Dushanbe will close the world calendar.
IJF President Marius Vizer also emphasized the importance of the upcoming competition: "The Masters represents the highest level of our sport, where only the strongest judokas in the world gather. We are confident that this tournament will not only demonstrate high results, but also inspire a new generation and strengthen the values that unite the world judo community."
Meanwhile, the Grand Slam tournament will start in Dushanbe tomorrow. The Azerbaijani national team will be represented by five athletes in this competition. Murad Muradli (60 kg), Nizami Imranov and Islam Rahimov (both 66 kg), Rashid Mammadaliyev (73 kg), Ushangi Kokauri and Jamal Gamzatkhanov (both +100 kg) will enter the tatami.
It should be noted that Azerbaijani judokas are currently in third place in the World Tour. Based on the results of the Grand Slam tournaments held in Paris, Tashkent and Tbilisi, as well as the Grand Prix in Linz, our team won six gold, four silver and six bronze medals. Only Japan and France are ahead in this indicator.
Speaking of the French, the legendary Teddy Riner has announced the date of his return to the tatami. The three-time Olympic champion, who is preparing for his sixth Olympics, underwent surgery on his right elbow after his victory at the home Games in Paris. A few days ago, he announced that he would participate in the Grand Slam tournament in Lausanne in August: "Returning to competitions is always a special event. Lausanne is an important step to get into rhythm and restore contact with sports."
It is quite possible that Teddy Riner will also participate in the world championship to be held in Baku in October. He visited our capital not only as an athlete, but also as an honorary guest. He currently has 12 world championship titles in his collection.
