Kuumar Shyam (Abu Dhabi)
The UAE judo contingent heading to the upcoming Asian Games has gone all out in their preparations while trying to build a strong pool of prospects for the 2024 Olympics. There are hopes of three or four medals from a squad of six men and two women, according to Naser Al Tamimi, General Secretary of the UAE Judo Federation, at the Asiad, which will be held in Hangzhou, China, from September 23 to October 8.
"The team has been preparing for this (Asian Games) throughout the year. In the last month alone, they were training in Georgia and now in Japan since the conditions are similar to those in China. They fly out on September 20," said Al Tamimi from the Federation office in Abu Dhabi.
Five of the six judokas in the men's section are young and if they gather valuable points from the Asian Games along with the medals they could make it to the Olympics, where qualification standards are very tough. "There are only 18 athletes allowed from the world in each weight category. So, it is important to collect this points from the Asian Games and we are confident that the team will come up with a good performance; the preparation has been good."
World No 12 Dzhafar Kostoev will be the key name among the men's team in the under 100kg category. Additionally, the -66kg and 100kg+ categories also hold strong possibilities for a medal. The team is being coached by Victor Scvortov, who was the leading name for UAE until recently.
"Victor and his assistant Ivan are our previous judokas. Victor is a multi-winner and two-time Olympian. Both have been part of the competitive environment until now and it becomes easy for them to impart their experience and knowledge to our young players," said Al Tamimi.
There will be 140 athletes from the UAE with good medal prospects in sports disciplines such as judo and jiu-jitsu. There will be 38 female athletes in the contingent. The nation has 40 medals to show in Asian Games history, including seven gold medals. More than 12,000 athletes from 45 Asian countries will participate in 40 sports through 61 disciplines during the quadrennial competition.
Missing out actively from the team's training in Tokyo will be the absence of Maitha Al Neyadi. At the age of 18, she was the first female Emirati to compete at judo's biggest global stage, incidentally also in Tokyo. Currently pursuing her education in Tokyo, her fitness and game levels are not at the optimum level as the others for a medal chance.
Squad
Men: Narmandakh Bayanmunkh (-66kg), Karim Abdulaev (-73kg), Nugzari Tatalashvili (-81kg), Aram Grigorian (-90kg), Dzhafar Kostoev (-100kg), Magomedomar Magomedomarov (100+kg)
Women: Khorloodoi Bishrelt (-52kg), Altantsetseg Batsukh (-57kg)