On Sunday, November 23, the qualifying stage of the “Battle of Cities” project, organized by the Russian Judo Federation and the “DobroFON” charity program, was held on the tatami of Sports School No. 1 of the Frunzensky District, determining the lineup of the final team participating in the December Super Final — the St. Petersburg team.
Approximately ninety boys representing fifteen clubs and schools of the Northern Capital took part in the competition. In head-to-head bouts, they determined the strongest athletes in eight categories, who, according to the regulations, will form the St. Petersburg team for the tournament in Sirius. The silver medalists of the competitions in the city on the Neva became part of the reserve and, under certain conditions, may also compete on the tatami of the “Academy of Martial Arts”.
A place on the main team, earned through victory on Sunday, went to: Stepan Pavlov (50 kg) and Maxim Ermakov (60 kg) from SDYUSSHOR “Olympic Hopes”, Mark Konkov (55 kg, GBOU DOD DYC “CFKIZ” of the Moskovsky District), Egor Mareev (66 kg, GBU SSHOR of the Petrodvorets District), David Botsiev (73 kg), Ibragim Kurbanov (81 kg), Dmitry Solomykhin (over 90 kg) from GBU SSHOR named after A.S. Rakhlin, and Yaroslav Gorelikov (90 kg, GBU SSHOR of the Kurortny District, Zelenogorsk).
“The qualifying tournament in St. Petersburg was held at a good level,” said the head coach of the city’s youth team Nikita Khokhryakov. “In most weight categories, everything went quite predictably — the leaders we were counting on eventually became the winners and joined the team. The only exceptions were the 66 kg and 73 kg categories, where the favorites failed to win gold. Nevertheless, they are included in the reserve and, if necessary, will strengthen the team in Sirius.”
The final “Battle of Cities” tournament will be held in Sirius from December 6 to 19. The finalists will include 32 teams: 24 from Russia and eight international teams (Athens (Greece), Ulaanbaatar (Mongolia), Ljubljana (Slovenia), Miami (USA), Cheongju (Korea), Poitiers (France), Havana (Cuba), and São Paulo (Brazil)).
They will begin their battle for playoff spots on Saturday, December 6.
Group A will feature: Mongolia, the Southern Federal District champion — Krasnodar, the Northwestern Federal District champion — Vyborg, and the third-place team from the North Caucasus — Stavropol.
Group B will feature: Ljubljana (Slovenia), the Volga Federal District champion — Perm, the best in the Far East — Ulan-Ude, and the champion of Novorossiya — Simferopol.
Group C will feature: Athens (Greece), the leader of the Ural Federal District — Severouralsk, the North Caucasus runner-up — Nazran, and the Far East silver medalist — Chita.
Group D will feature: Miami (USA), the Central Federal District champion — Shchyolkovo of the Moscow Region, the Siberian runner-up — Irkutsk, and the bronze medalist of the Volga qualifiers — Orenburg.
Group E will feature: Havana (Cuba), the strongest in Siberia — Krasnoyarsk, the Volga Federal District runner-up — Kazan, and the Northwestern Federal District silver medalist — Kaliningrad.
Group F will feature: Poitiers (France), St. Petersburg, the Ural Federal District runner-up — Yekaterinburg, and the third-place finisher in the Southern Federal District — Volgograd.
Group G will feature: Cheongju (Korea), the North Caucasus champion — Nalchik, the Central Federal District runner-up — Lipetsk, and the bronze medalist of the Ural qualifiers — Chelyabinsk.
Group H will feature: São Paulo (Brazil), Moscow, the Southern Federal District runner-up — Volzhsky, and the Central Federal District bronze medalist — Kovrov.
Two strongest teams from each group will advance to the next stage.
On December 15 and 16, Sirius will host the Round of 16 matches for Groups A–D and E–H respectively. On Wednesday, December 17, the quarterfinals will take place on the tatami of the “Academy of Martial Arts”, followed by the semifinals on December 18. On Friday, December 19, the bronze medal match and the Final of the “Battle of Cities” will be held, along with the award ceremony.
Source: Russian Judo Federation
