The bronze medal was won by the Turkmen judoist Hakberdi Jumayev at the European Open Championship held in Warsaw (Poland).
The two-day tournament brought together 429 athletes (248 men and 181 women) from 43 countries who competed for 14 sets of medals in 7 men's and 7 women's weight categories.
The team of Turkmenistan was represented by 13 judoists (9 men and 4 women).
Hakberdi Jumayev achieved bronze success in the weight category up to 60 kg, in which 38 judoists from 16 countries competed for medals. On the way to the podium, a 23-year-old candidate for master of sports, a 5th year student of the Turkmen State Institute of Architecture and Construction won four victories.
In the first fight, our compatriot won a clear victory over Mutaz Khavjah (Saudi Arabia) already in the 9th second. Then, with the help of the «Vasari», he defeated Bart Veling (Netherlands). In the quarterfinals, Hakberdi won cleanly over Nurdaulet Amankossov (Kazakhstan) in 1.5 minutes.
In the fight for reaching the final, H. Jumayev lost to Jean Enzo (France) because of two «Vasaris», and in the fight for 3rd place he defeated Nazar Viskov from Ukraine. Another bronze medal was won by Sherzod Davlatov (Kazakhstan), who won in another match for 3rd place over his compatriot Nurdaulet Amankossov. The winner of the European Open Championship in Warsaw in the weight category up to 60 kg was the 20-year-old Frenchman Romain Valadier Picard, who turned out to be stronger in the final of his compatriot Jean Enzo.
In September 2022, Hakberdi Jumayev won a gold medal at the Open European Championships in the Austrian Oberwart in the weight category up to 60 kg, in which 29 judoists, including 7 from Turkmenistan, competed for medals. Previously, he took fifth place at the 2019 World Junior Championships and the 2020 Grand Prix tournament in Tel Aviv, was seventh at the 2022 Grand Prix competition in Zagreb, and in August 2022 became the bronze medalist of the 5th Islamic Solidarity Games, which took place in the Turkish city of Konya.
Hakberdi Jumayev started judo wrestling in Turkmenabat with his first coach Rejepbay Ashirov. Currently, he is improving his sportsmanship under the guidance of the head coach of the national team Gahryman Amandurdyyev.
The next serious test for Turkmen judoists will be Grand Slam tournament in Tashkent (Uzbekistan), which will end on the 5th of March. 14 athletes from Turkmenistan, along with teams from 49 countries (191 men and 173 women), will compete for medals and ranking points on their way to the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
The total prize fund of the tournament is 154 thousand euros.
The men's team of Turkmenistan included: Aybek Omirov, Hakberdi Jumayev (both in the weight category up to 60 kg), Serdar Rahymov, Hekim Agamammedov (both up to 66 kg), Parahat Nazarov, Begench Soltanov (up to 73 kg), Shatlyk Seyitmyradov, Mamedali Acyldyyev (both - up to 81 kg), Baymyrat Majanov (up to 100 kg). And in the women's - Aksoltan Hojageldiyeva, Gurbanay Gurbanova (both - up to 48 kg), Sayara Roziyeva (up to 52 kg), Maysa Pardayeva (up to 57 kg) and Zulhumar Dashkinova (up to 63 kg).
