Serdar Rahimov (TKM) stunned the crowd back in May, winning the penultimate Olympic qualification event, cementing his place in Paris for the Olympic Games. In the French capital he won his first contest against Pedro of Angola and then lost against the eventual silver medallist, Willian Lima (BRA).
Rahimov, at only 20 years old, has been travelling almost non-stop for the last two years, collecting experience, knowledge and contests and it became clear at the end of the Paris cycle that it was a good strategy. Now he is on the path to Los Angeles for, potentially, his second Olympic Games but he has taken this stop along the way to compete at the flagship junior event of the year, illustrating the importance of such an event.
In his first round match-up in Dushanbe, he faced the home team’s Umar Sherov who had a tough time against the Olympian but the energy of the spectators was with him. Rahimov expected the win though, to move forward to face Sebastian Kollar (HUN), former cadet world number one and a world medallist at cadet level.
Another name which is familiar to the local crowd is that of Madina Qurbonzoda. She stole the hearts of the Tajik people when she placed 7th in the 2023 Dushanbe Grand Prix at only 15 years old. She is now back in her own capital city to fight on the most prestigious junior stage and she will have the backing of the crowd, the city and the country.
The competition is already yielding some impressive judo. There are huge throws, skilful shime-waza and a clear desire to win with positive judo. We can’t wait to see who will take the medals; each day will offer some big surprises.