JUDO – THE kingdom’s senior men’s judo national team struck double gold last night on the opening day of action in the Amman Asian Open 2025 in Jordan.
The two-day meeting is being held as part of this year’s International Judo Federation (IJF) calendar.
Bahrain are one of 18 nations – plus another squad representing the IJF – that are taking part in the competition, which features 150 of the world’s elite judokas, both men and women.
Bahrainis Ruslan Poltoratskii and Mukhamed Aloev were the gold-medallists as part of a three-medal haul for the kingdom’s representatives. Ramazan Kodzhakov also stepped on the podium yesterday, winning a silver medal.
Poltoratskii captured his title in the men’s under-60kg category. The 19-year-old defeated Youssry Samy of Egypt in last night’s final to clinch Bahrain’s first medal of the event.
Aloev followed suit, securing his crown in the men’s under-73kg division. The 23-year-old beat 30-year-old compatriot Kodzhakov with an ippon in their title-deciding clash.
The three medals for Bahrain marked a positive start for the nationals in this year’s Amman Asian Open. Four of Bahrain’s other judokas are set to hit the mat today in the Jordanian capital. They include Gadzhidavud Gasanov in the men’s under-81kg division, Israpil Sagaipov in the men’s under-90kg, Said Sadrudinov in the men’s under-100kg, and Azamat Chotchaev in the men’s over-100kg class.
The preliminaries of each category are set to get underway at 10am, and then the finals are scheduled for 5pm onwards. Both times are Bahrain.
The kingdom’s delegation in Amman is headed by Bahrain Judo Federation (BJF) board member Abdulla Jassim Al Mannai. It includes national team head coach Kamal Khan-Magomedov.
The participating judokas from the other countries are Burundi, Egypt, France, Great Britain, India, Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, Lebanon, Malta, Montenegro, Pakistan, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Yemen, and hosts Jordan, who have the largest delegation of 62 athletes.
The Amman Asian Open 2025 is being held along with the Amman Cadet Asian Cup 2025 and the Amman Junior Asian Cup 2025, both of which will take place following the seniors event. There are no Bahraini judokas in either the cadet or junior competitions.
The national team’s participation comes within the framework of the BJF’s commitment to strengthening the presence of Bahraini judo in regional and international championships, and raising the level of the kingdom’s judokas by competing against the world’s best-ranked athletes.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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