Siberian Stage of the “Battle of Cities” Concludes in Krasnoyarsk

Nine regional teams from the Siberian Federal District competed on Saturday and Sunday, November 22 and 23, for spots in the December Super Final. These teams fought for qualification within the framework of the international project “Battle of Cities,” organized this year for youth teams by the Judo Federation of Russia and the charitable program “DobroFON.”

Teams from Irkutsk, Novosibirsk, Chernogorsk, Omsk, Tomsk, Krasnoyarsk, Barnaul, Kyzyl and Kemerovo took part in the event. Following the group stage, the strongest teams proved to be those from Irkutsk Region and Krasnoyarsk Krai, while the runners-up — athletes from Novosibirsk Region and Altai Krai — also advanced to the playoffs.

In the semifinals, the Irkutsk team confidently defeated their peers from Barnaul with a score of 13:5. Meanwhile, the hosts from Krasnoyarsk and the representatives of the Chernogorsk judo school delivered a true showdown — 13:12 — sending the young Krasnoyarsk athletes into the final.

That intense semifinal energized the home team, which in the final left little chance for their opponents from Irkutsk Region. The final score was 13:8.

“The competition was extremely tight: in many bouts the winner was determined only in the very last matches,” said Evgeny Nefyodov, Director of the Specialized Sports School of Olympic Reserve in Krasnoyarsk. “For example, in the semifinal bout the situation was very tense: the Krasnoyarsk team was losing 12:9, but managed to reverse the outcome in the final three contests. As for the playoff lineup, it turned out largely as expected. We anticipated Irkutsk and Krasnoyarsk in the final, although the teams from Chernogorsk and Altai Krai performed very well.

The new competition format made the team matches especially spectacular. For instance, in the bout between Kyzyl and Kemerovo, the Tuvan team was losing heavily after the first rotation, but managed to even the score and only in the 25th match fell to the representatives of Kuzbass.”

As a result, Krasnoyarsk will compete in Group E together with Havana (Cuba), Kazan and Kaliningrad. Irkutsk will join Group D alongside Miami (USA), Shchyolkovo and Orenburg.

The final stage of the large-scale “Battle of Cities” project will take place in Sirius from December 6 to 19 at the “Academy of Martial Arts.”

Source: Judo Federation of Russia