The UAE Welcomes the Judo World with Open Arms in Abu Dhabi

The ceremony commenced with both the anthem of the UAE and of the IJF, followed by a short video welcoming the world to the Emirati capital for the Championships. This was followed by a series of performances evoking the history, culture and judo of the UAE.

The General Secretary of the UAE Judo Federation, Mr Nasser Al Tamimi, then took to the stage to welcome the judo world to Abu Dhabi, “Dear Mr Marius Vizer, president of the International Judo Federation, ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of the president of the UAE Judo Federation, HE Mohammed Bin Thaloob, we would like to thank the UAE government for its continuous and unlimited support for all sports, including judo. We thank the IJF for their support in hosting these World Championships, and we would also like to thank our partners including the Abu Dhabi Sports Council and Abu Dhabi Sports TV for their support in making this World Championships a success.

To conclude, we congratulate the judo family in the UAE on their silver jubilee after 25 successful years. Welcome to Abu Dhabi, a city of compassion and peace, thank you.”

IJF President Mr Marius Vizer continued with his own warm welcome,“Distinguished President Mr Bin Thaaloob, distinguished General Secretary Mr Al Tamimi, distinguished guests, partners, sponsors and judo family members, it is a great honour and a great pleasure for the IJF to come back to Abu Dhabi, this time for the 2024 World Championships. I want to thank the Emirates for their continuous support in the promotion and development of our sport.

These championships are a message of peace, unity and friendship to the whole world, which aim to guarantee the security, peace and support of the next generation. I want to thank all the national federations, all the athletes and all judo family members for their support and participation in these world championships. I would like to thank all our sponsors, media partners, spectators and all the special guests in attendance this evening.

I also want to thank a very special person here today. We have the honour of welcoming Mr Albano, our ambassador and the artist who sings our IJF anthem. We are also honoured to welcome Mr Helmuth Duckadam, the best goalkeeper in the world and winner of the European Cup against Barcelona, and Mr Shin Koyamada, one of the lead actors from the film ‘The Last Samurai.’ I’d also like to wish our friend and ambassador Mr Albano a very happy birthday.

Thank you to our judo family and good luck for these world championships. I wish you all the best for the next Olympic Games in Paris. Thank you very much, I now open the World Judo Championships in Abu Dhabi.”

After these welcome messages, the crowd at the Mubadala Arena were treated to a thrilling final block, which saw incredible performances from Mimi Huh (KOR), Ryoma Tanaka (JPN) and Hidayat Heydarov (AZE), who all became world champions for the first time, in the -57kg, -66kg and -73kg categories, respectively.

Following her silver medal at -57kg, Christa Deguchi reversed the result of the last Olympic cycle and was officially selected for her first Olympic Games ahead of teammate Jessica Klimkait, who had to settle for a bronze medal. The bronze medal of Luukas Saha at -66kg was only the second world championship medal in Finland’s history and also guarantees him a spot at the Olympic Games.

Tanaka’s gold medal, along with Takeshi Takeoka’s silver in the same category and Momo Tamaoki’s bronze at -57kg, propels Japan to the top of the medal table, ahead of Italy and Mongolia, but with three days of individual competition still to come, nothing is set in stone.

Join us for day three of these world championships, which have already produced so many dramatic and historic moments, as the athletes in the -63kg and -81kg categories take to the tatami in search of a world title and more vital Olympic ranking points. Catch all the action live on JudoTV.com or on the new JudoTV app from 12:00 local time Tuesday 21st May.