Obid Dzhebov gives Tajik homecrowd shivers

If the public came in great numbers to attend this first day of the Dushanbe Grand Prix 2023, it is because they are passionate about sport and judo. Today the top performer was Obid Dzhebov (TJK) who, after the preliminary stages, only had one more magic trick to perform to propel himself to the top of the podium.

Pointing to a distant 109th place in the world and without any reference on the senior international circuit, the performance of the local judoka was already extraordinary.

Facing him was Murad Chopanov (AIN), today in 145th place in the world but whom had already tasted gold in a grand slam, back in 2021.

With a massive sutemi-waza Obid Dzhebov looked to take the lead in the final, with no score though. It was enough to get the crowd chanting. As the seconds passed by, the number of Tajik flags increased but still the thousands of spectators were almost frozen by what was at stake, the first gold medal for the host country. When the second penalty was awarded to Chopanov, for passivity, there was a retained explosion of joy. Nothing was decided yet. It was time for golden score and it was a long, long, long golden score for the two athletes, of course, but for the public as well.

When the referee announced ‘mate’ and asked the competitors to adjust their judogi, everyone in the stands knew that it was a good sign but still they were waiting to explode, which they did when the third shido came. Obid Dzhebov is a gold medallist, at home, for Tajikistan. Bravo! As the public did not hold their happiness any more, Obid Dzhebov was respectfully bowing to his opponent and then walked out of the competition area, his logical joy kept inside. This is an image we love to see.

Hekim Agammedov (TKM) and Yashar Najafov (AZE) fought for a place on the podium. The medal went to Najafov for Azerbaijan, a second one in a grand prix, as Agammedov was penalised a third time.

Sunggat Zhubatkan (KAZ) and Adrian Nieto Chinarro (ESP) had the opportunity to join the other athletes for the medal ceremony. The danger came immediately from Zhubatkan with an uchi-mata in a circle but for no score and then a shime-waza attempt. The next uchi-mata was Spanish but again for no score. Sunggat Zhubatkan scored a first waza-ari after he cleverly anticipated Chinarro's new uchi-mata attempt. This was enough to secure a spot on the podium.