The introduction of judo into the Paralympic programme took place in Seoul 1988 for the men’s categories and in Athens 2004 for the women’s. Until Tokyo 2020, men competed for seven gold medals and women competed for six, depending on their weight.
In Para Judo, athletes are not penalized for going far from the mat, unless the movement is intentional. As competitors approach the edge, the referee shouts ‘Jogai’ from the middle, so they hear where they need to be. The start of the bout is authorized only when the competitors are holding each other. The referee must ensure constant contact between the participants throughout the competition; If contact is lost, the fight stops.
Competitors look for “Ippon”, the triumphant blow of judo, which consists of projecting the opponent so that they fall with their back completely on the ground, and immediately immobilizing them with an armlock. Judo matches last up to five minutes, during which the athletes score points according to the techniques they execute.
Since Paris 2024, the competition consists of 16 medal events and is structured in classes, with four men’s events for J1 and J2 (under 60 kilos, under 73, under 90 and over 90), and like the women’s category (under 48, under 57, under 70 and over 70 kilos).
In Rio 2016, Uzbekistan managed to win gold three times, one of them was Sherzod Namozov, in the men’s category of -60 kg. The athlete has already been crowned world champion twice, in Antalya, Turkey, and in Eger, Hungary.
In his Paralympic debut, he defeated Uruguay’s Parapan American champion Henry Borges, Azerbaijan’s Ramin Ibrahimov and Japan’s Hirose Makoto, all by “ippon”, which ensured he was on top of the medal podium.
The judoka Kapil Parmar, from India will also be aiming to win in the – 60 kg category. If he does this will be his country’s first medal in Judo.
The winner of the IBSA Antalya 2024 Judo Grand Prix in Turkey is clearly focused on sport and is strongly preparing to achieve the goal, which is to win at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.
From 5-7 September, the Champ-de-Mars Arena will host up to 148 Para judokas from around the world competing in 16 medal events.
