12 years ago, Nicolas Messner, IJF Media and Judo for Peace Director, explored the area with a delegation from the Mongolian Judo Association, "When we arrived near Darkhan city, we were really in the middle of nowhere. From a distance we saw a group of children wearing for some normal clothes and others wearing a full judogi or just the jacket. They were training on the grass surrounded by traditional ger (tents) and cattle. We stopped and joined them. We had a lot of fun. At the end of the session I gave them judogi that were supplied by the IJF. Yolk Kazirbyek was one of the children there that day. Later on we would meet another group, where Baasankhuu Bavuudorj was practising judo, almost for the first time. In 2024, she became world champion in Abu Dhabi and Olympic silver medallist in Paris."
The idea behind those missions was to discover how judo was practised even in the most remote places and to support local communities. "Honestly, I could feel the passion for the sport but I would have never expected or imagined that 12 years later, I would meet those judoka again on the international scene, winning world and Olympic medals. This is absolutely fantastic and it justifies all the effort that the International Judo Federation puts into promoting judo in all corners of the world."
For Yolk Kazirbyek, the first day of the OTP Bank World Championships was an unbelievable day, "It's unimaginable. It is my first ever world championship and I won a medal. I'm living in a dream. Honestly, I don't remember the whole day clearly, it went so fast and the emotion was so high that I'll need some time to understand what happened. My teammates had to tell me to wake up and that it did happen, I'm a world medallist."
HE Khaltmaagiin Battulga, former President of Mongolia and President of the Mongolian Judo Association said, "Yesterday looked like a dream. More than 12 years ago, we visited the countryside, far away from any important urban centre. During those missions, we found two children. One became world champion last year and an Olympic silver medallist. That is Baasankhuu Bavuudorj. Yesterday, it was Yolk Kazirbyek who won a world bronze medal. They are both coming from very rural areas. When we met them for the first time, we offered them a dream, a dream that came true. It feels wonderful. It was and still is my dream to offer young people a future. It's not only about competition, it's also about family, about studying, about having new opportunities in life."
Yolk Kazirbyek started judo when he was 13 years old. Now 24, he entered his international career with a bang. "Among the other children living in the area, I had some good friends, who I call my brothers and one of them was training in judo. He convinced me to join. One day, during a summer camp, we saw the IJF and national federation were coming. This was the first time ever that I saw a foreigner. I remember that he offered me a judogi."
Both Baasankhuu Bavuudorj and Yolk Kazirbyek proved that having dreams and making everything possible to reach them leads to amazing achievements. The Judo for Children and Judo for Peace initiatives are important programmes. It's not only about sport, it's about education and self-confidence. Anyone can reach their own limits and go even further than they think. Some judoka will become champions, some will become coaches, referees or will just enjoy judo and become better citizens.
"I come from a very rural area. My relatives still live a nomadic life. I know that yesterday my parents couldn't watch the competition. Technically they could have done it but it was too stressful for them. They discovered my result after the event. I had my dad on the phone; he couldn't say a word but ‘congratulations my son.’ He was too high on emotion."
During his bronze medal contest, Yolk Kazirbyek faced Brazilian Michel Augusto, who was injured at the end of the contest. Watching Kazirbyek helping his opponent and even carrying him off the tatami is the proof that he didn't only become a sporting champion but also a champion in life. "It is my mentality. Competition is competition, we are fighters but once it's over we are members of the same family. I felt sorry for my opponent. Immediately my brain switched and I knew that I needed to help him, because he's my friend."
The conclusion of the day was given by Yolk Kazirbyek, "There is always an opportunity and we all have to work hard to find it. If we work hard and we keep having the desire to achieve something, then everything is possible." Yolk Kazirbyek and Baasankhuu Bavuudorj proved to be right and they will inspire many more judoka to come.