Qatar ready to host World Judo Championships

The World Judo Championships - Doha 2023 is set to commence this week and a total of 679 male and female athletes from 99 countries will compete for a total prize money of €1mn, this was announced by the Local Organising Committee at a press conference yesterday.
The May 7-14 championships will be held at Ali Bin Hamad Al Attiyah Arena, this was said by the Qatar Taekwondo, Judo & Karate Federation (QTJKF) president and Director General of the Organising Committee, Khalid bin Hamad al-Attiyah. “The World Judo Championships - Doha 2023 are an occasion to welcome the world’s most prominent and talented athletes in one of the world’s most popular sports. We thank His Excellency Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad al-Thani, Chairman of the Local Organising Committee and President of the Qatar Olympic Committee, for his unwavering support and supervision,” al-Attiyah said.
The press conference yesterday was also attended by Chairman of the Sports Committee Eid Ali al-Muraikhi, Chairman of the Media and Broadcasting Committee Sheikh Hamad bin Abdulaziz al-Thani, Chairman of the Marketing and Communication Committee and the Opening and Closing Ceremonies Abdul Hadi Misfer al-Marri, and Vice-Chairman of the Marketing and Communication Committee and the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the tournament Abdullah al-Marri.
The Chairman of the Media and Broadcasting Committee Sheikh Hamad said around 200 journalists from around the world and those based in Qatar will provide coverage of the championships. He added that Qatar is ready to provide state-of-the-art facilities at the championships venue.
“It is a great challenge to provide all the satisfactory media services that are worthy of the reputation of Qatar,” he said. He added that Qatar has remained in coordination with the International Judo Federation (IJF) president for more than a year to ensure the implementation of the best media plans, and to provide all means of comfort for media coverage.
Al-Attiyah said the local organizing committee will meet today with the IJF president, who arrived in Doha yesterday, and the IJF Executive Committee. Al-Attiyah confirmed that the the IJF General Assembly will be held in the presence of all member states tomorrow.
“Qatar has always been a hub for major sporting events, starting from the 2006 Asian Games to the 2022 FIFA World Cup. And now we are set to host a memorable World Judo Championships,” he said.
He added that the QTJKF has spared no effort in promoting judo in Qatar. The head of the Sports Committee for the championships, al-Muraikhi said Qatari athletes have the opportunity to excel in home conditions.
“Our dedicated team has worked to ensure a successful championship, and we hope that our national team will score the points that enable them to qualify for the 2024 Olympic Games to be held in Paris,” al-Muraikhi said.
Fans interested in buying tickets to the event, can visit https://judodoha2023.com/
Eight Russian barred from worlds after Ukraine boycotts
The International Judo Federation yesterday barred eight members of Russia’s world championships squad following Ukraine’s boycott over the presence of Russian athletes it argued were active soldiers.
Judo’s governing body the IJF said ahead of the May 7-14 championships in Qatar that it had “commissioned independent background checks on the athletes and delegates to ensure both their place of employment and any social media interactions regarding pro-war propaganda”. As a result of those checks, “eight members of the delegation were rejected”.
The IJF added that it will “continue to monitor the situation and conduct further investigations to ensure that all athletes are participating ethically and in accordance with the rules and regulations of the sport and the judo values.”
Judokas from Russia and Belarus were given the green light to compete in Doha by the IJF on the proviso they do so as individual neutral athletes.
But when it announced it was boycotting the championships in Qatar, the Ukrainian judo federation alleged that “the majority of the (Russian) team are athletes who are active servicemen of the armed forces of the Russian Federation”.
Explaining their decision to ban eight members of the Russian team, the IJF said: “Only athletes employed at the Federal Training Sport Center of the representative teams of Russia and athletes for whom no information was identified suggesting support for or views on the Russian invasion of Ukraine have been approved.