The Urals Host the “City Battle”: Tournament Report

On Saturday, November 22, an interregional qualifying stage of the international project “City Battle” was held in Chelyabinsk within the “Ural” division, organized by the Russian Judo Federation and the charitable program “DobroFON”.

During the opening ceremony, the Acting First Deputy Minister of Sports of the Chelyabinsk Region, Anna Kodina, addressed the guests and participants.

A special moment was the ceremonial presentation of the championship cup for the victory of the “Konar” team in the final of the Women’s Continental Judo League to its founder, President of the Chelyabinsk Region Judo Federation Valery Bondarenko.

The Konar team was formed in June of this year and has already demonstrated highly competitive, confident judo from its very first events. The cup was presented by Yuri Stepkine, Deputy Head of the Regional Judo Department for the Ural Federal District.

The tatami brought together the strongest young judoka from three Russian regions: the Chelyabinsk, Sverdlovsk and Tyumen oblasts. The teams competing for a spot in the December Super Final included Yuzhny Ural, Kopeysk, Chelyabinsk and Trekhgorny (Chelyabinsk Region), Yekaterinburg and Rodina (Sverdlovsk Region), as well as Druzhba and Tyumen (Tyumen Region).

Following the group stage, four teams advanced to the playoffs: Yekaterinburg, Chelyabinsk, Yuzhny Ural and Rodina.

In the semifinals, the favorites confidently confirmed their status: Yekaterinburg defeated Chelyabinsk 13:3, while Rodina beat Yuzhny Ural 13:3.

The final of the “Ural” division became a true test of nerves. Yekaterinburg and Rodina fought 25 bouts (!), with the outcome decided only at the very end. With a minimal advantage — 13:12 — Rodina claimed victory in this dramatic confrontation and advanced to Group C, joining teams from Athens, Nazran and Chita.

The Yekaterinburg team will compete in Division F alongside Poitiers (France), Saint Petersburg and Volgograd.

In the playoff for the bronze-medalist pathway, Chelyabinsk convincingly earned the right to join Group G (alongside Cheongju, Nalchik and Lipetsk) by defeating Yuzhny Ural 13:4.

“Today's competition was extremely challenging for the teams,” noted Olympic medalist Yuri Stepkine. “The most important outcome, in my view, is the invaluable experience the participants gained. The leaders — Rodina and Yekaterinburg — competed with fixed line-ups, while others had substitutions, which allowed more athletes to gain high-quality sparring experience. Coaches focused strongly on this aspect. The larger the roster, the more athletes could test themselves. As for predictions, the finalists broke all statistical expectations. The matches followed a randori format, which demands not just persistence and drive but also technique, mastery, awareness — and in our case, strong team support.”

According to Denis Yartsev, Honored Master of Sports of Russia, expert of the Judo Federation Academy and coach of the national team, the tournament became a significant stimulus for both athletes and coaches.

“The new format gives athletes major competitive experience thanks to the number of bouts, as well as the opportunity to analyze their fights, adjust their approach and correct mistakes through repeated matches against the same opponent. The chance to enter the final stage motivates judoka to continue improving — which is extremely important at this age, especially considering the common problem of young athletes quitting the sport,” Yartsev emphasized.

Source: Russian Judo Federation