We will do our best to turn the European judo championships into a sports festival, RJF representative says

The press conference dedicated to the kickoff of the 2016 European Judo Championships saw the attendance of President of the European Judo Union (EJU), Sergey Soloveychik; Tatarstan’s Minister of Sport, Vladimir Leonov; President of the Tatarstan Judo Federation (TJF), Fayaz Shabaev; Deputy Director General of the Directorate for Sports and Social Projects, Ranko Tepavcevic; General Manager of the Russian national judo team, Ezio Gamba; European judo champion (52kg), Andrea Chitu (ROM), and coach of the French national judo team, Martin Dupont.

“I would like to thank the Tatarstan leadership and the tournament OC for giving us a warm welcome. We are confident that it will be a spectacular event. We hope that spectators will enjoy the live action on tatamis and athletes will avoid injuries,” Sergey Soloveychik said in his welcome speech. “Russia is a very hospitable country; a lot of international competitions are held here. Each tournament is staged to a high standard. Tatarstan has experience of hosting major sporting events that’s why I have no doubt that the tournament will be a success.”

The tournament draw was held as part of the press conference. Opening the draw procedure, Director of the Event Management Department at the Russian Judo Federation (RJF), Anatoly Laryukov, informed that athletes from 46 countries will compete at the sporting event. “For the first time ever the Tatarstan capital plays host to the European Judo Championships. But Kazan has a wealth of experience in organising high-profile international competitions: Summer Universiade, European and world championships in a wide range of sports,” Laryukov reminded. “We will do our best to turn the tournament into a true sports festival. I hope that spectators will enjoy watching amazing bouts on tatamis during all the four days of the tournament.”

For his part, Tatarstan’s Sport Minister Vladimir Leonov noted that the European Judo Championships OC team had attended the 2015 European Games in Baku (AZE) and will try to organise even a better judo tournament in Kazan. “Not only citizens of Kazan but visitors coming to our city took a great interest in the European Judo Championships. The tickets to the opening ceremony were practically sold out the day they hit shelves,” the Tatarstan Minister said. “What makes the tournament even more special is that it serves as a qualifying event ahead of the Rio Olympic Games and also the fact that the Presidential Council for the Development of Physical Culture and Sport will hold its meeting in Kazan during the competition days.”

“We are grateful to the European Judo Union and EJU President Sergey Soloveychik for putting their trust in us,” TJF President Fayaz Shabaev said in his speech. “Kazan boasts vast experience of preparing and managing sporting events. A lot of martial arts are being developed in the republic, and judo has its own niche in Tatarstan’s sports life. I hope that by hosting this tournament we will give a boost to judo’s further development in the republic.”   

Deputy Director General of the Directorate for Sports and Social Projects, Ranko Tepavcevic, assured that the OC team will do everything possible to ensure that competitors feel at home in Kazan and have only good memories of competing at the tournament. “We like to build new sports venues, organise tournaments and invite friends to take part in them. Now, judo has been accepted to our big sports family,” Ranko Tepavcevic said. 

According to General Manager of the Russian national judo team, Ezio Gamba, the Russian national judo team will have its strong and most optimal roster at the tournament. “The roster has not been changed much,” he said. “Each team has its own strategy. Our strategy is to field this very roster – strong and optimal one at the moment. Is there anyone I place special hope on? I wouldn’t want to single out anyone. It doesn’t matter how many medals an athlete has – each member of the national team is capable to achieve good results under good conditions.”

Ezio Gamba also mentioned the Russian women’s national judo team’s progress. After the London 2012 Olympic Games, Gamba, who had earlier been the coach of the Russian men’s national squad, was appointed as the General Manager for the entire national team. “Surely, there’s certain progress in the performance of the women’s national team. The number of female judokas in each category has increased. But there are still more athletes in the men’s team – nine judokas per each category. Approximately 60 athletes compete in the national team all year round. Currently, there are about 40 judokas in the women’s team, 24 of them are top-rated. We will fight for gold medals at the Olympics,” Gamba said.

The European Judo Championships will be held at the Tatneft Arena Sports Palace on April 21-24. The 2016 edition is one of the qualifying rounds in the run-up to this summer's Rio Olympic Games.