Uzbekistan is a country of warriors in which martial arts are very popular. The National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Uzbekistan just honoured the Uzbekistan Judo Federation with special awards given to three important Judoka.
During the celebration, the NOC of Uzbekistan presented 12 awards for special achievements over the last 30 years. Three of the 12 nominations were awarded to judoka: Armen Bagdasarov, Rishod Sobirov and Abdullo Tangriev.
International Judo Federation (IJF) Head Referee Director and 1996 Olympic silver medallist, Armen Bagdasarov, received an award for winning the first medal at the Summer Olympic Games for Uzbekistan. It was presented by the Vice President of the Olympic Council of Asia, Dr. Thani Abdulrahman Al Kuwari.
Armen Bagdasarov commented, “It is a very important date, 30 years since the establishment of the Uzbekistan NOC. It is a great pleasure to receive this award. I am especially happy that today two other judoka, my students, were also awarded. The Uzbekistan Judo Federation won three awards and I am very happy and proud of that.”
Rishod Sobirov was a winner for being the athlete with the most Olympic medals. Rishod was presented his prize by the Vice President of the OCA Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Saud, a member of the IOC Mr. Olivier Luis Niamkey, and the Vice President of the Uzbekistan NOC Mr Aziz Kamilov.
The third judoka to receive a prize was Abdullo Tangriev, who won the award of ‘Best Athlete of the Decade 2001-2011.’ It was presented by the President of Fédération Internationale de Natation (FINA) and the Director-General of the OCA, Mr. Husain Al-Musallam and the Vice President of OCA, Mr. Otabek Umarov.
Mr. Kamilov said, “These awards prove how popular Judo is in Uzbekistan, among all the sports enjoyed by society and included in the Olympic movement. We will do our best to get our best results in the coming decades and Olympic Games. It is a great honour to be here today. These awards belong to the whole judo family of Uzbekistan. Congratulations!”
The GAISF Vice President, Stephan Fox was part of this historical event and visited the National Federation Headquarters where he was welcomed by President Kamilov Azizjon, General Secretary Mamajanov and Technical Director Kakharov Eldorin where he congratulated Uzbekistan Judo for all their achievements in the world of sport and he is looking forward to seeing many Judokas at the upcoming World Combat Games in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
