The ceremony started with a few words of welcome, "Our warmest greetings to you, dear friends and dear guests! It is with great honour and pride that for the second time in the capital of the independent country of Tajikistan, the international judo event the Dushanbe Grand Slam is being held! This great sporting event welcomes the chairman of the National Assembly of the Supreme Assembly of the Republic of Tajikistan, the chairman of the City of Dushanbe, the honourable Rustam Emomali."
The participating countries were announced before the Tajik and IJF anthems were played. The public then enjoyed a modern and powerful laser light show, just before the ‘Zebo’ Dance Ensemble performed a traditional ‘Jilva’ dance. The opening ceremony concluded with the singing performance of Tahmina Niyazova and Amirjon Roziyev.
Vladimir Barta, IJF Head Sport Director, who has been in the front row of the event since day one declared, "It's really amazing to be here and sometimes the atmosphere is so incredible that you cannot speak to someone sitting next to you. This is something exceptional that every judoka should be able to experience.
Over the past years, Tajikistan did everything to grow and perform. This is the case at the world level, with two Olympic medals last year in Paris and several world laurels. This is also the case when it comes to organising events such as this grand slam.
I also want to underline that once again Tajikistan made history yesterday with the first ever medal won by a woman on the World Judo Tour. Madina Qurbonzoda is only 17 years old, but yesterday she proved that she had the right stuff to perform at the highest level. It's a fantastic sign for all women in Tajikistan and across the world. It shows where judo in Tajikistan stands now.
Last but not least, I want to mention once again the public and underline their behaviour of fair play; this is great to see. Of course they support their local heroes but they also give a round of applause for the referees when they step on the tatami. Today in the semi-final between Behruzi Khojazoda (TJK) and Erdenebayar Batzaya (MGL), when the Mongolian judoka won after an impressive contest, they applauded. This is what we want and like to see, so congratulations to everyone for making judo such a great sport in Tajikistan."
After this incredible day of judo, there is one more day on display in Tajikistan with the last five weight divisions. Stay connected and follow all the action on https://judotv.com/