The final stage of the new Judo Cities Battle project, launched by the Russian Judo Federation and the DobroFON charity program, has begun at the Martial Arts Academy in the federal territory of Sirius.
The first to step onto the tatami of the Russian Kodokan were the athletes from Group A, where teams from Ulaanbaatar (Mongolia), Krasnodar, Vyborg, and Stavropol are competing for places in the play-offs. Matches in Group B also began today, featuring teams from Ljubljana (Slovenia), Perm, Ulan-Ude, and Simferopol, according to the draw.
It was a day filled with intense contests, emotions, and many exciting bouts: team matchups continue until one side reaches 13 victories, which adds drama and gives young judokas as much competitive experience as possible. The first “win” of the final stage went to the team from Krasnodar, who defeated their peers from Mongolia 13:6.
The official opening ceremony was attended by the head of the federal territory of Sirius, Dmitry Plishkin, the Sports Director of the Russian Judo Federation (RJF), Kirill Denisov, and Olympic champion Mansur Isaev. The ceremony featured a parade of flags of the countries participating in the Judo Cities Battle, as well as the performance of the National Anthem of the Russian Federation — which has recently become an integral part of any judo competition involving Russian athletes.
Ahead lie two more weeks of top-level judo from Russian and international teams: in addition to the Mongolian and Slovenian judokas, representatives from the USA, France, South Korea, Brazil, Greece, and Cuba have arrived on the Black Sea coast.
The total prize fund of the tournament amounts to a record 216 million rubles for youth judo. Part of this amount will be allocated to regional federations to support local judo development, improve facilities and equipment, and reward specialists.
On 6 and 8 December, athletes from Groups A and B will compete on the tatami of the Martial Arts Academy; on 7 and 9 December, teams from Groups C and D will take to the mat; on 10 and 12 December, Groups E and F will compete; and on 11 and 13 December, Groups G and H. The first play-off bouts are scheduled for 15 and 16 December, with the quarterfinals and semifinals to be held on 17 and 18 December respectively. The medal bouts and the gala show will take place on Friday, 19 December.
Let us recall that, following the draw, all participants were divided into eight groups:
• Group A: Ulaanbaatar (Mongolia), Krasnodar, Vyborg, Stavropol
• Group B: Ljubljana (Slovenia), Perm, Ulan-Ude, Simferopol
• Group C: Athens (Greece), Severouralsk, Nazran, Chita
• Group D: Miami (USA), Shchyolkovo, Irkutsk, Orenburg
• Group E: Havana (Cuba), Krasnoyarsk, Kazan, Kaliningrad
• Group F: Poitiers (France), Saint Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Volgograd
• Group G: Cheongju (South Korea), Nalchik, Lipetsk, Chelyabinsk
• Group H: Brasília (Brazil), Moscow, Volzhsky, Kovrov
The morning session will begin at 10:00 local time (which matches Moscow time), and the evening session at 15:00. As tradition holds, the organizers have prepared an extensive entertainment program for fans, allowing spectators to take part in sports activities and contests.
Full live coverage of the Judo Cities Battle tournament is available on the official Russian Judo Federation's VK community, as well as on the online platforms rusjudotv.ru, official tournament's website judobattle.com, and on FON.TV.
