Thank You Dushanbe and Thank You Tajikistan

Mr Marius Vizer declared, "The atmosphere at the Dushanbe Grand Prix was electric! Congratulations to the Tajikistan Judo Federation and its President, Mr Ismoil Mahmadzoir, for all of your passion, hard work, and dedication. We are witnessing the results of the hard work of the Tajik judo family, winning 6 medals, including three gold."

The least we can say is that the organisers were up to the challenge and rose to it brilliantly, welcoming 315 athletes from 40 different countries, representing the five continents.

This Tajik campaign has allowed many nations to test promising young people, some of whom have distinguished themselves and are leaving Dushanbe with honours. We also saw more experienced competitors looking for thrills and benchmarks for the months to come, in an Olympic race that is getting more and more exciting.

In two weeks, the World Judo Tour will settle in Astana, Kazakhstan, then it will be the turn of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, where for the first time the points will count for 100% in the Olympic race. The next two events therefore promise to be particularly interesting.

While waiting to continue our journey in the heart of Asia, a big thank you to Dushanbe and Tajikistan for hosting this first grand prix in the history of judo and congratulations to all the medallists.