UAE judokas begin four-year plan for Olympic glory at 2028 Los Angeles Games

While the 2024 Paris Games did not go according to plan for the UAE, preparations have already begun to get the Olympic mission back on track.

The UAE sent six judokas to Paris who formed the core of the Games contingent of 14 athletes alongside four equestrian riders and a cyclist.

The judokas came close to clinching a medal in Paris when Aram Grigorian narrowly lost to Theodoros Tselidis in the repechage round in men’s 90kg division. That means the judo bronze at the 2016 Rio Games remains the only other UAE Olympic medal after the historic shooting gold of Sheikh Hasher Ahmed Al Maktoum in double trap in 2004.

Aiming to secure more Olympic qualification spots to boost their medal hopes, the governing body for judo in the UAE has opened the doors to naturalised athletes to compete in the sport.

Leading the way is Victor Scvortov, who represented the UAE at the Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Scvortov, 36, bagged bronze for the UAE in the World Championship in 2014 and another bronze at the Asian Games in Jakarta four years later. In between, he secured several medals in the IJF Grand Slams and Grands Prix including golds in Abu Dhabi and Budapest.

Scvortov took charge as head coach after the Tokyo Olympics and oversaw the integration of naturalised athletes into the national set-up. Now, he has started preparing for the 2028 Los Angeles Games.

The Moldova-born trio of Scvortov, Ivan Remarenco and Sergiu Toma – who won bronze in Rio – were the first naturalised judokas recruited soon after the 2012 London Games. The old guard has given way to some exciting young recruits and the head coach believes the hard work will bear fruit soon.

All six judokas who qualified for Paris were making their debut at the Games and Scvortov is confident they will get stronger and more experienced by the time LA 2028 rolls around.

“At Paris, we competed with judokas with an average age of 22-23 and it was their first Olympics. They will be 26-27 at the next Olympics. This is the best age for the male judokas,” Scvortov told The National on the sidelines of the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam at the Mubadala Arena.

“The federation's vision is very clear. They want to win Olympic medals and have drawn up their programme on those lines.

“We have added a few more judokas after Paris and the plan is to have as many of them qualified for LA. To have six at Paris was an achievement, even though we couldn’t reach the medal rounds. I hope we can achieve those results at the LA Games.

“In LA, hopefully we’ll also have the numbers to enter the team event. That gives us an added chance of an Olympic medal. Sometimes, you can lose in an individual event and still win as a team.”

Aside from the Olympics, UAE are also focused on success in the Arab Games, Islamic Games, World Championship and the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya.

“There are many IJF (International Judo Federation) grand slam and grand prix competitions but for us, the Arab and Islamic Games next month, the Worlds and the Asian Games are the big ones leading up to the Olympics,” Scvortov said.

The national team members were involved in the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam where the UAE fielded 12 men and two women judokas, including Paris Olympians Nugzari Tatalashvili (81kg) and Khorloodoi Bishrelt (52kg).

The UAE bagged two golds at the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam. Bishrelt got the better of Mongolian Sosorbaram Lkhagvasurei in the women’s 52-kilogram final, while Makhmadbek Makhmadbekov overcame Abubakr Sherov of Tajikistan in the men’s 73kg division.

“After Paris, all of us took a one-month break. Preparing for the Olympics is very tough. It takes a heavy toll on the athletes and takes time for them to recover,” Scvortov said.

“After Paris, it’s another long and winding road to LA. We have a lot of travel to deal with every year so we are staying like a family. The coach is like the father, mother, doctor, psychiatrist, and everything for the next four years.

“We have to cope with the success as well as the losses at every competition. It’s a hard job for both the athletes and the technical staff to keep going for four years.

“The UAE is my second home. I have been an athlete and coach for more than 12 years. I’m fully aware what the federation needs from both the athletes and the coach.”