JUDO
FEDERATION

Specialists from all regions of the country could be seen at the 3^rd Youth Judo Games recently held in Taraz. A liter.kz correspondent talked to coach of the Kazakhstan judo team Yerzhan Baizhumanov.

– All teams prepared well, therefore the competition was at a high level, - Erzhan Baizhumanov said. – The tournament was held in the city of Taraz that has great traditions in sport. Regional authorities pay special attention to development of all sports and judo in particular. The first Kazakhstani world champion among youth Eldos Smetov was born in Zhambyl region. The region has other talented athletes. Manarbek Agaidarov, the President of the Zhambyl regional judo federation makes a great contribution to development of this sport.

– Who of the athletes is best to remember after the tournament?

– For me it is Meirlan Baimakhanbetov performing in the 60 kg category. Aziz Kalkamanuly (81 kg) confirmed his status of a strong judoka. There were no great surprises at the tournament. Those who got onto the podium deserved it.

The 3^rd Youth Judo Games are a complex event. The competition for the top places in the standings is strong. As you may know, there were some changes in the refereeing in judo earlier this year. It was not easy for our referees to adjust to new rules right away. Nevertheless, their work did not rouse censure after the Games. Referees were impersonal and responsible.

– Was it expected that Kyzylorda judokas took the first place in the standings, Zhambyl athletes took the second and East Kazakhstan region’s representatives took the third?

– I believe it was. These regions have good traditions in sport. Representatives of these regions compete for the podium at all tournaments.

– What do you think about performance of the athletes from Astana?

– Astana has promising young athletes. Zhaksylyk Musurman, Meirlan Baimakhanbetov, Dauren Aldynazarov, Aigerim Abilkadirova are already champions and have some experience including participation in international events. Judokas from Astana performed well at the recent Youth Games and made it to the top three. Astana has a lot of palaces of sports, sports clubs, playgrounds. The infrastructure of the city allows young sportsmen to train under perfect conditions. I think it helps Astana judokas to perform successfully. The work of the local trainers deserves attention as well because they make a contribution to development of athletes.

– Does the number of judokas increase in the country?

– Certainly. The number of people going in for judo increases annually in Kazakhstan. Many events of different levels are held in the country. Youth and adult tournaments of both national and international levels are held even in the regional centers. Our sport received a great impetus for development and support thanks to Beket Makhmutov.

– What do you think about performance of the national team of Kazakhstan at the international tournaments?

– New Olympic cycle has just begun. It doesn’t make sense to demand much from our sportsmen. The international judo calendar has many tournaments and Kazakhstani judokas win medals almost at all of these tournaments. Speaking of the Asian championship held in Thailand, five bronze medals won by our athletes is a good result in terms of the number of medals and unsatisfactory due to absence of gold medals. However, out athletes performed well in team events: both men’s and women’s national teams got bronze medals and licenses for participation in the world championship.

Ilyas Otan