The expectation was all the greater as this championship marks the last stage of the World Judo Tour before the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. The qualification period will end very soon and Abu Dhabi is the place to be. The stakes are at their peak, the number of points that will be distributed here can still change a lot of things.
It remains true that in six days we will also know the new promotion of world champions. Two months prior to the Paris Games, this is a very important step. There will be those disappointed in Abu Dhabi who will want to make amends in France. There will be the lucky ones from Abu Dhabi who will want to continue their momentum in the French capital. And there will be everyone else. It’s certainly enough to offer us an incredible spectacle.
During the official draw of the event that took place today, the International Judo Federation was represented by Mr Vlad Marinescu, General Director, Mr Vladimir Barta, Head Sport Director and Mr Florin Daniel Lascau, Head Referee Director. The UAE Judo Federation was represented by Mr Naser Al Tamimi, Secretary General of the federation and IJF General Treasurer, Mr Mohamed Jassem, board member, and Mr Sultan Alkitbe, Event Director.
Mr Vlad Marinescu declared, "The best of greetings and respect and thanks to His Excellence Mohammed Thaaloob Alderei, President of the UAE Judo Federation, to Naser, Mohamed and Sultan, our colleagues, who are working diligently with all the UAE Judo Federation to organise and prepare the landscape for the world championships here in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
This is a very exciting event, which is the last stop on the World Judo Tour before the Paris Olympic Games. We're very gracious and happy to welcome all the judoka from around the world, the best of the best, participating for qualification for the Paris Olympic Games.
On behalf of our President, Mr Marius Vizer, our executive board and the whole judo family, we'd like to wish the best of luck to the athletes, and thank the fans of course. We wish you great exciting moments that you can watch on judoTV, on the application that has notifications with your favourite athletes and most importantly to celebrate judo, the education sport built on values that is building bridges of unity and peace. Good luck to all the athletes."
Mr Naser Al Tamimi then declared, "Dear Vlad, Director General of the IJF and my colleagues from the IJF, dear judo family, I'd like to thank the IJF for giving us this opportunity to organise the world championships. In the beginning it was all about the decision to host the world championships within a short time. It was a big challenge for our federation.
Our federation is just 25 years old. We took this challenge because we wanted to celebrate this 25 years, our silver jubilee. With the support of the IJF team, through our day-by-day, month-by-month collaboration, we could make these championships successful within a very short time of 4 months. To make this happen here in Abu Dhabi, with 107 countries present, will be so nice for the judo community in the UAE.
I also would like to thank the Abu Dhabi Channel for their hard work and for accepting this challenge. I would like also to thank the UAE organisers and the staff who have been working day and night to make this happen and make it successful. Thank you and I wish all the countries, all the judoka here in Abu Dhabi good results and success. We wish to see you at the Olympic Games in Paris."
The tone was set. Before the start of the championships, which will begin on day one at 11am at the Mubadala Arena with three categories (-48kg, -60kg and -52kg), we can already expect a great success. According to the level of the participants, there is no doubt that whoever steps on top of the podium tomorrow evening will be a beautiful world champion. The final block will start every day at 18:00 sharp. You can follow the action on https://judotv.com/, on our website and on all our social media platforms. Enjoy the show!