00:00It's day two of this year's OTP group Tashkent Grand Slam,
00:03with the Humo Arena playing host to world-class action.
00:06But first, there was an opening ceremony,
00:08consisting of traditional Uzbek dance and culture,
00:14and an appearance from Olympic champion Diora Keldeurova,
00:18an inspiration to many young Uzbeks.
00:21President of the International Judo Federation, Mr. Marius Viza,
00:24declared the event open,
00:25whilst Dr. Arkham Ikramov, Minister of Sports of the Republic of Uzbekistan,
00:30also spoke to the crowd in attendance.
00:32Mr. Marius Viza and Mr. Andrei Golban,
00:34President of the Moldovan Judo Federation,
00:36also signed the hosting agreement for Kisnau, Moldova,
00:39to host the 2027 World Championships for Cadets.
00:43Meanwhile, on the tatami, at under 63 kilograms,
00:46Tanioka Narumi of Japan showed dominance
00:49as she overcame the vastly experienced Catherine Boshimin-Pinard,
00:53pinning her for rip-on.
01:03Mr. Marius Viza, International Judo Federation President,
01:07was once again on hand to award the medals.
01:12At under 73 kilograms,
01:14home favorite Shakram Ahadov had made it to the final.
01:17There, he faced unknown Tajik fighter Orif Abdulloy,
01:20who silenced the raucous home crowd in golden score,
01:23countering Ahadov for the victory and his first gold medal.
01:30This is my first time in Tashkent.
01:32For me, it's like home, and we are one team.
01:34We are not Uzbek or Tajik, we are one culture, we are friends.
01:39He was awarded his medal by Mr. Otterbek Umarov,
01:42Olympic Council of Asia Vice President.
01:45At under 70 kilograms, Miriam Budkaretz showed superb skill in groundwork
01:49to hold down French rising star, Melkia Oshkorn.
01:58The crowd was good, yes, I love them because they are very happy and very supportive.
02:06That was amazing.
02:07She was awarded her medal by International Judo Federation Ambassador,
02:11Mr. Daniel Girta.
02:15At under 81 kilograms, Omar Rajabli continued the Nehwaza theme,
02:19winning his first Grand Slam gold with a hold down of his own.
02:28The medals were awarded by Uzbekistan Sports Minister, Dr. Adham Ikramov.
02:38It was another spectacular display from the local team,
02:42with the Uzbek athletes doing the home crowd proud
02:44and showing a wonderful variety of judo.
02:54With one more day to go, we now move to the heavyweights.
02:58We'll see you tomorrow.
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