Russian judoka Adamyan won gold at the World Championships in heavy weight: he repeated the achievement of Khaibulaev

In Doha-2023, our athletes perform on the tatami in a neutral status

The day before the end of the World Judo Championship in Doha, the Russian team, playing in Qatar in a neutral status, received a gold medal. Arman Adamyan became the winner of the world championship in the weight category up to 100 kg. On the last day of the competition, two sets of awards will be played: in the categories over 78 kg for women and over 100 kg for men.

Arman Adamyan won the 2023 World Championship in the 100 kg weight category. And he became the second world heavyweight champion in the history of Russia. It happened 12 years after the triumphant victory of Tagir Khaibulaev in Paris.

In the final of the World Championship in Doha, Adamyan competed with a unique judoka from the Czech Republic: Lukasz Krpalek won the gold of the Olympic Games and World Championships both in the 100 kg weight category and in the over 100 kg category. Arman had never met Krpalek on the mat before Qatar. But the European champion, the triumphant of three Grand Slam tournaments in Zagreb, Paris and Abu Dhabi, could not help but know the Czech wrestling style, he actively imposed his wrestling.

The main time of the bout ended with two “shidos” by Krpalek, and in extra time Adamyan continued to put pressure and forced the opponent to receive a third warning, which determined the winner.

Bronze medalists were Zelim Kotsoev from Azerbaijan and Israeli Peter Palchik. Olympic medalist and world championship medalist Niyaz Ilyasov lost to Finger in the quarterfinals of the tournament.

This is Adamyan’s first medal at the world championships and the first medal of our athletes specifically in Doha. Russian athletes compete in Qatar as individual neutral athletes.

The previous days of the competition, during which ten sets of awards were played, showed the struggle of our athletes, but not the desired result. For example, on the eve of Arman Adamyan’s victory, when in Qatar the fate of medals in the largest category for men (58 athletes) 90 kg and in the weight category 70 kg (49 participants) for women was decided, our judokas did not have enough sports luck. The first failure befell the European champion, the owner of the gold of the Grand Slam tournament in Mongolia, Mikhail Igolnikov, he lost to his opponent already in the opening match. Madina Taimazova and Mansur Lorsanov reached the quarterfinal stage.

The bouts of the winner of the bronze medals of the Olympic Games in Tokyo and two European championships Madina Taymazova were spectacular. In the second round, Madina met with the Mongolian Nyam-Erdene Batsuuri, the medalist of the Youth World-2022, whom she defeated ahead of schedule with crown throws.

Taimazova’s next opponent was two-time junior world champion Ai Tsunoda, who is also the daughter of a Japanese coach who has been working with the Russian national team since 2022. Madina did not spare the coach’s family feelings. And in the quarterfinals, she met with European vice-champion Giovanna Scocimarro, who plays for Germany. Two remarks forced Madina to take risks, but the opponent’s counterattack led to a “waza-ari”.

In the repechage group, a judoka from Venezuela, Elvismar Rodriguez, came out against Taimazova. And sports happiness, despite the fact that Madina fought to the end, was able to get out of hold, turned out to be on the side of her opponent.

After the long-awaited gold for our judoists, heavyweights enter the fight at the World Championships: 43 athletes will compete in the category over 100 kg. Russia will be represented by Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist, world championship medalist and European champion Tamerlan Bashaev, as well as European champion, Grand Slam winner Inal Tasoev.