Sport | Other Sports
Top stars to grace Abu Dhabi Judo Grand Prix
Plans to stage tournament every year
- By M. Satya Narayan, Senior Reporter
- Published: 00:00 November 6, 2009
- WHEN: November 20 and 21
- WHERE: Al Jazira Sports and the Cultural Club indoor stadium
Abu Dhabi: Some of the world's top judokas, including a few Olympic Games medal winners, will be seen in action in the inaugural Abu Dhabi Judo Grand Prix 2009 to be held in the Al Jazira Sports and Cultural Club indoor stadium on November 20 and 21.
Giving details of the event, Nasser Mohammad Al Tamimi, secretary general of the UAE Wrestling, Judo and Jiu-Jitsu Association and event director of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix said: "This will become an annual event and is being held under the auspices of Shaikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Presidential Affairs Minister. A total of 100 top judokas are expected and ten of them will be from the top-ranked in the world."
"Judo is a sport in 196 countries and with some of the economically-strong nations along with some of the most populated nations practicing this sport, we felt it was an ideal event to keep the image of Abu Dhabi on the world stage," Al Tamimi said.
"After the recent success of the Formula One Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, we feet this Abu Dhabi Judo Grand Prix will be a huge boost to the sport at the grassroots' level," he said.
Mohammad Jasem, media manager of the event said: "The total prize money for the Judo competitions is $200,000 and the International Judo Federation (IJF) has confirmed that the Abu Dhabi Judo Grand Prix 2009 is a major source of acquiring points in its ranking of IJF-sanctioned wrestlers."
"The two-day grand prix is being held in association with the Abu Dhabi Sports Council, who are co-coordinating all sporting activities in Abu Dhabi in a bid to boost the image of the emirate," Jasem said.
Competitions for men will be held in the 55-60 kgs, 60-66kg, 66-73kg, 73-81kg, 81-90kg, 90-100kg and 100 and above categories while in the women's section the categories are- 45-48kgs, 48-52kg, 52-57kg, 57-63kg, 63-70kg, 70-78kg and 78 and above.
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