Proud Armenian Ferdinand Karapetian in the race for Tokyo

Ferdinand Karapetian of Armenia won the European senior title in 2018 in Tel Aviv. This weekend he showed his best judo with beautiful scores at the Grand Slam in Tashkent. Karapetian is maybe a lonely wolf, fighting in different countries as one of the few Armenian fighters. He travel by himself and trains in as many countries as possible if corona allows.

Karapetian (28) also competed for Russia in his early days where he won national medals as senior and U23. Later he took medals at European Cup level (Dubrovnik 2016) and moved up to medals at European Open level (Minsk 2017). Ferdinand took a bronze medal at the Grand Slam in Düsseldorf in 2018 and was in the final of Ekaterinburg in 2018.

Last weekend he was even twice in the Top 10 best ippons of JudoInside’s partner Judoheroes. Have a look at that video. He destroyed Rustam Orujov with a huge takeover. The victory over the Azeri in the quarter final was fundamental for Karapetian. In the semifinals, the Armenian athlete lost to Zhansay Smagulov from Kazakhstan but was able to win the bronze medal against Guillaume Chaine.

Ferdinand Karapetian is the only Armenian judo champion who has a chance to win a ticket to the Olympic Games in Tokyo. “In the first rating tournament of the season, I did not achieve success, as I entered the tatami after a long break and injuries," he noted. After Tel Aviv, he took part in the tournament, which was held in Tashkent.

"I prepared very well for this tournament and won a medal," he said. "As an athlete, I must somehow inspire my people. Thanks to these victories, we can get back on our feet and look ahead. I am glad that with this victory I was able to please my people a little," he reacted.