Under the framework of the Eastern Economic Forum, Vladivostok, Russia, hosted the third international judo tournament named after Jigoro Kano under the patronage of Russian Federation President and IJF Honorary President Mr. Vladimir Putin and the Prime Minister of Japan Mr. Shinzo Abe.
IJF President, Mr. Marius L. Vizer, President of Mongolia, Mr. Battulga Khaltmaa, Prime Minister of Japan, Mr. Shinzo Abe, and Russian Federation President and IJF Honarary President, Mr. Vladimir Putin

Russian Federation President and IJF Honarary President Mr. Vladimir Putin and the Prime Minister of Japan Mr. Shinzo Abe both attended the Annual International Vladivostok Jigoro Kano Cadet Judo Tournament which was held under their patronage and were joined by the President of Mongolia, Mr. Battulga Khaltmaa, the Prime Minister of India Mr. Narendra Modi and IJF President Mr. Marius L. Vizer.

The four-day event was also attended by IJF Vice President and EJU President Sergey Soloveychik, All Japan Judo Federation and Japanese Olympic Committee President Yamashita Yasuhiro, Russian Judo Federation President Vasily Anisimov and IJF Development Manager Arkady Rotenburg.

From L-R: Mr. Marius L. Vizer, IJF President, President of Mongolia, Mr. Battulga Khaltmaa, Prime Minister of India Mr. Narendra Modi, Russian Federation President and IJF Honarary President Mr. Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister of Japan Mr. Shinzo Abe, IJF Development Manager Arkady Rotenburg and Russian Judo Federation President Vasily Anisimov

The well-known u18 event, which is hosted by the Russian Judo Federation and supported by the International Judo Federation, is an annual feature at the Eastern Economic Forum which is aimed at further developing business ties between countries across Asia.

The competition retained the team format from last year, but it changed slightly, and the number of participating teams increased to six. In addition to the traditional participating countries - Russia, Japan, South Korea, Mongolia and China, athletes of the youth team of India took to the tatami in Vladivostok. The Prime Minister of the Republic of India, Narendra Modi, became an honored guest of the competition.

Action from Vladivostok

As part of the competition, medals were won in three types of programs and the absolute winners in the overall standings were determined by the total points earned in these three events.

At the draw, held on the eve of the tournament, Olympic champion and IJF Hall of Famer Ezio Gamba noted the importance of the Jigoro Kano competition, not only in the light of the further growth of the skill of its participants, but also as a means of uniting representatives of different countries.

“Russia's Jigoro Kano tournament will provide an opportunity to compete in team competitions for athletes of those weight categories that are not among the official listings in the mixed team event and this is a very important point,” Gamba emphasized.

Russia celebrates on home soil

Five teams participated in the tournament of the girls' teams, who fought on a round-robin system. As a result, the victory in this type of program was celebrated by the team of Mongolia, having defeated rivals from South Korea in the final. The Russian team in the round-robin tournament won a fundamental victory over the Japanese team and eventually shared the third place with it.

“I think that a victory over Japan will give girls confidence in anticipation of the Cadet World Championships in Kazakhstan in September. This is a really significant result. All the girls fought, showed themselves. We have the opportunity to work out the identified shortcomings so as not to repeat such mistakes in the future. There are no victories without defeats. We know what to work on, and we will be better next time, ”says the mentor of the Russian national team Flora Mkhitaryan.

Legendary Olympic champions were in attendance including Tagir Khaibulaev, (RUS), Giuseppe Maddaloni (ITA), Arsen Galstyan (RUS) and Mansur Isaev (RUS)

In the mixed team tournament event, five teams also battled for awards.

The finals featured the national teams of Russia and Japan.

After four meetings, the scoreboard was equal at 2: 2. However, the Japanese claimed the last two contests and rightfully won the highest awards of the Olympic format tournament. Athletes from South Korea and Mongolia became bronze medalists.

Yamashita Yasuhiro recognised the two outstanding judoka

The head of the Olympic Committee of Japan, Olympic champion and AJJF President Yamashita Yasuhiro handed out special prizes to the best fighters of the tournament - the representative of Mongolia, Gerelzaya and the judoka from Russia, Tsechoyev.

Kishore Kumar, Coach of the debuting Indian National Team said: “Our team played for the first time at the Jigoro Kano tournament, and for us it was a great experience. We are very pleased with the fourth contest in the match with South Korean, where our athlete won the first victory of India in this tournament. But I want more, so we hope to return to Vladivostok next year. ”

Participants in the match for "gold" were representatives of Mongolia and Russia. The final match in this type of program took place in the presence of the heads of Russia, Japan, Mongolia and India and in front of several thousand fans. The price of "gold" was high because it could play a decisive role in determining the absolute winner of the Kano tournament. The Russians, under the eyes of their president, showed excellent judo, winning five meetings in a row. This “gold” helped the tatami owners to score enough points in the overall standings to equal the rivals from Mongolia and share first place with them. The third place in the absolute championship was taken by the Japanese team.

The medalists were awarded by Russian Federation President Mr. Vladimir Putin, Japanese Prime Minister Mr. Shinzo Abe, the President of Mongolia Mr. Khaltmaa Battulga and IJF President Mr. Marius L. Vizer.

IJF President Mr. Marius L. Vizer speaks with the President of Mongolia Khaltmaa Battulga

“I want to appeal first of all to our guests, to thank them for coming to Russia to participate in these competitions,” Russian Federation President Mr. Vladimir Putin said at the end of the tournament.

"Thanks to the International Judo Federation and, of course, to my colleagues, heads of state and government, who take the time to come here and enjoy this wonderful sport. Best wishes to the winning athletes. This is a youth tournament, and the fact that at this age boys and girls achieve results is very good. But sports in general and judo in particular have been proven many times - you can’t stand still if you want to achieve real, big victories. Therefore, dear children, dear girls, I want to wish you success in sports and on your life path. Diligence and talent will open you a wonderful road to the future, and sports will always accompany you and help you in any of your endeavors,” the President of Russia emphasized.

See also
The Olympic Champion Series
The Olympic Champions (49): Yoshiyuki Matsuoka (JPN)

18. Sep. 2024 / Interviewing an Olympic champion is something special ...

News
Statement from the International Judo Federation (IJF) - 18/09/2024

18. Sep. 2024 / Following the media and public reaction concerning ...

News
Statement from the International Judo Federation (IJF) - 16/09/2024

16. Sep. 2024 / The International Judo Federation (IJF) and its president, ...

GP Zagreb 2024
Zagreb 2024: A Bright Future

15. Sep. 2024 / With the last five categories entered in Grand Prix ...

Interview
Peter Safrany Enters in the Big World

15. Sep. 2024 / Peter Safrany represents the new generation of Hungarian ...

GP Zagreb 2024
+100 kg: Nakano Concludes With the Last Gold

15. Sep. 2024 / Already a grand slam winner in Antalya in 2023, the ...

GP Zagreb 2024
+78 kg: France Controls the Category

15. Sep. 2024 / Number one seed, in a category where France has proven ...

GP Zagreb 2024
-100 kg : Ukraine Wins with Savytskiy

15. Sep. 2024 / After Daniel Szegedi's (HUN) great victory on the second ...

GP Zagreb 2024
-78 kg: Van Dijke Succeeds While Going Up

15. Sep. 2024 / The first round was a test for the number 1 seed, Croatian ...

GP Zagreb 2024
-90 kg: Peter Safrany Wins His First Gold Medal on the WJT

15. Sep. 2024 / Vugar Talibov's (AZE) 2024 season has been pretty good ...

Interview
On the Other Side of the Mirror

15. Sep. 2024 / One is Brazilian, the other French.

Interview
Lutalo Muhammad: An Olympic Medallist But a New Judoka

14. Sep. 2024 / Among the media representatives in the mixed zone of ...

GP Zagreb 2024
The 11th Zagreb Grand Prix is Open to Launch the New Cycle

14. Sep. 2024 / The second day of competition at the Zagreb Grand Prix ...

INTERVIEW EXPRESS
Shishime Ai (JPN)

08. Jun. 2018 / The next reigning world champion to be invited to answer ...

News
5 Key Takeaways from judo’s first Tokyo 2020 qualifier

06. Jun. 2018 / Highlights from Hohhot Grand Prix 2018

VIDEO
Judo for the World in Iran

07. Jun. 2018 / In April 2018, the International Judo Federation and ...

Meeting
JUDO: A Beneficial Cause

07. Jun. 2018 / 'Society should believe in sport as a beneficial cause ...