Azizjon Kamilov: "Comprehensive cooperation has been established with the IJF»
In connection with the championship of Uzbekistan among youth in our country, the restart of judo competitions took place. Our adult national team took part in the Grand Slam tournament in Budapest, and our youth (born in 2000-2002) gathered last week in the capital's Universal sports complex.
It is worth noting that the competitions were held in high spirits, full of uncompromising competitions. The fact that the participants skipped the tatami after a long quarantine was only noticed by their behavior and aspirations. We offer you a conversation with the Deputy Chairman of the National Olympic Committee of Uzbekistan, Chairman of the Judo Federation of Uzbekistan Azizjon Kamilov about the resumption of competitions and plans for the future.
- Azizjon Yakubzhanovich, after competitions in Budapest in our country the judo restart finally took place. The championship of Uzbekistan was a success. Let's start our conversation with your thoughts on the same topic.
- I express my gratitude to the Government of Hungary and the country's Judo federation, as well as to the International Judo Federation (IJF)for organizing the Budapest Grand Slam tournament at a high level, despite the difficult situation at the first stage. I also told them about it when we were on the trip. Indeed, in terms of organization, the competition was better than expected. I will not be mistaken if I say that the restart was successful for the judo family. Now, of course, the eight-month break, which passed without quarantine and judo, could not but have an impact. However, the long period without competition affected the results. In this case, it is also inappropriate to make harsh comments. It should be perceived as a natural process, I think. Speaking in the weight category -66 kg, Sardor Nurillaev took 5th place and scored 360 rating points. The rest of our judoists also recorded certain rating points on their account, depending on the stages they achieved. Of course, the coaching staff led by Ilias Iliadis conducted a deep analysis of the tournament in Hungary. They are working on eliminating the shortcomings. In turn, we, together with the Ministry of Physical Culture and Sports and the National Olympic Committee, are doing everything possible to ensure that our judokas return to their former sports form. For this purpose, an international training camp was organized in Tashkent with the participation of the national teams of five countries-Egypt, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, France and Uzbekistan. The participating countries came to Tashkent with their strong teams. I think that this gathering with the participation of the winners and medalists of the Olympic Games and World Championships was useful for all participants.
– During the tournament in Budapest, you met with the President of the IJF, Marius Wieser. What issues were discussed during the conversation?
- Comprehensive cooperation has been established between the Judo Federation of Uzbekistan and the IZHF. The project of the International Judo Federation "Judo in schools"is being implemented in our country. Tatami and kimano are delivered to these IJF schools. Our judges are invited to the Asian and World Championships, the Masters, Grand Slam, and Grand Prix tournaments. The Grand Prix tournament is regularly held in the capital. Last year, for the first time, this tournament was organized at a high level at the magnificent "Humo Arena". This was also recognized by the experts who visited our country, international experts. As a result, for the first time in history, our country was entrusted with hosting the World Championship among adults. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic situation, this competition will not take place in 2021. The same issue was discussed at our meeting with the President of the IJF in Budapest. Mr. Vizer proposed to postpone the World Championship among adults to 2022, which was not held in Tashkent due to the situation with the coronavirus. I think that we will organize the most prestigious tournament of the year between the two Olympic Games at a high level with the support of our government. Here I would like to mention another long-awaited news. As part of the upcoming World Cup, it is planned to hold an exhibition of the International Business Forum. By the way, in 2022, the 80th anniversary of judo in Uzbekistan will be widely celebrated. As you can see, our plans are grandiose. By the end of the year, we will hold the championships of Uzbekistan among adults and juniors. If you are lucky, in January next year, our judoists will take part in the first tournament of the new season, which will be held in Qatar.
