The draw of each event is the signal for everyone involved to be ready, to refocus and ensure all the correct steps are taken, in all sectors, to safeguard operational standards. The draw, open to everyone online, took place at 2pm local time on Thursday 15th February. Present for the International Judo Federation were Mr Vladimir Barta, Head Sport Director, Mr Mohamed Meridja, Education and Coaching Director and Mr Florin Daniel Lascau, Head Referee Director. For Azerbaijan the guests were Mr Rashad Rasullu, Azerbaijan Judo Federation Secretary General, Mr Elnur Mammadli, Vice President of the Azerbaijan Judo Federation and Olympic champion, and Mr Elnur Mammadov, Head of the Sports Department for the Azerbaijan Ministry of Youth and Sports.
Mr Mohamed Meridja opened proceedings, “Dear sport department, dear judo family, on behalf of the IJF I would like to wish you a very warm welcome to this grand slam, in Baku. Following the excitement of Paris, I would like to thank the Azerbaijan Judo Federation for all their effort and contributions to this stage of the 2024 World Judo Tour.
IJF President Mr Marius Vizer conveys his best greetings to everyone here. We wish the Azerbaijan Judo Federation good luck and give them our full support. We wish that the whole judo family has a good time here.”
Mr Elnur Mammadov added, “Dear judo family and guests, we are happy to welcome you here in Baku for the tenth time. Judo has a special place in the hearts of the people, fuelled by the remarkable achievements of Azeri judoka on the world stage.
Last year we enjoyed the opening of our national training centre by President Ilham Aliyev, showing that judo plays an important role in the life of the country."
"The competition begins tomorrow and with 404 athletes from 62 countries the competition promises to be amazing. So, on behalf of the minister of youth and sport, I wish good luck to all judoka competing.
Mr Rashad Rasullu then continued, “Dear judo family, good afternoon to all of you. It is my great honour to welcome you to the draw ceremony. I offer gratitude to the IJF, Mr Marius Vizer and the Ministry of Youth and Sport for their extensive support. Here we are continuing to meet the high standards set in previous years. The athletes have trained tirelessly to compete on this prestigious stage and we wish all of them all the best for their competition in the Baku Grand Slam.”
Moving on into the mechanics of the draw and IJF Commentator Sheldon Franco-Rooks, as draw MC, gave a reminder of our adherence to the principles of event organisation which value clean sport and fair play, noting the dedicated anti-doping telegram channel which is now in operation. The Baku Grand Slam is to be run as a safe, clean and sustainable event. Mr Franco-Rooks also highlighted the IJF Telegram channel as a place to see all information relating to the event.
Mr Lascau noted, “For this special tenth anniversary of the Baku Grand Slam, the IJF Refereeing Commission is delighted to select from best referees in the world to ensure consistency, transparency and fairness.”
Mr Vladimir Barta then introduced the draw for the competition which will begin tomorrow at the National Gymnastics Arena, “Dear distinguished guests, we start the draw of for the Baku Grand Slam 2024. We have 404 athletes, 178 women and 226 men, from a total of 62 nations.”
The draw took place and JudoTV was stocked with fresh statistics, information and teasers for the big 3 days ahead. The competition starting times were also shown:
Day 1: 10:00
Day 2: 10:30
Day 3: 10:30
We are looking forward to an exciting event. Follow all the action at JudoTV.com.