The International Judo Federation (IJF) World Judo Tour landed in Kazakhstan for the last major Grand Slam event before this year’s World Championship and the Olympics. With some ranking points still up for grabs, judo stars from around the world arrived in the city of Astana aiming for victory.

Marius Vizer.

The President of the International Judo Federation, Marius Vizer, expressed gratitude to Kazakhstan’s Vice Prime Minister, Galymzhan Koishybayev, and Minister of Tourism and Sports, Yermek Marzhikpayev, for the country’s steadfast support of judo. “We appreciate their contribution to promoting judo values in the region,” he concluded.

“Judo is rightly considered one of the most popular and spectacular martial arts,” stated Galymzhan Koishybayev, who also remarked that “this sport has widely developed throughout the country. Nowadays, more than 150,000 people practice judo in Kazakhstan. We express our gratitude to the International Judo Federation (IJF) for their trust in Kazakhstan to organize this Olympic Games qualifying tournament in Paris.”

Opening ceremony at #JudoAstana

We thank the Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan, Mr. Galymzhan Koishybayev, and the Minister of Tourism & Sport, Mr. Yermek Marzhikpayev, for their constant support of judo in the country! 🥋 We value their contribution to promoting judo values… pic.twitter.com/7uCIZ0bIfH

— Marius Vizer (@MariusVizer) May 12, 2024