UAE judokas are battle-ready

abu dhabi — Three Moldovan judokas — Sergiu Toma, Victor Scvortov and Ivan Remarenco — will be representing the UAE at the Rio Olympics. Giving them an instant reason to celebrate will be the fact that Ivan will turn 27 on August 7.

“My boys are all ready for action in Brazil,” UAE judo federation secretary General Nasser Al Tamimi told Khaleej Times. “Toma is our strongest contender. He has got good experience. Victor and Ivan are also Rio ready. I expect good results because they are well prepared for Olympics. Also, they have good experience.”

Nasser said the preparations for the Olympics started right from 2013. “Also, every year we had participated in many championships and had as many as nine training camps.”

On being asked about the role of the UAE Judo federation in helping and promoting the sport, he said: “We have 18 training centres in the UAE. We also have agreement with the Ministry of Education to spread the game further.”

And he is sure that an Olympic medal will be a ‘big promotion for Judo’ in the country.

On his thoughts about other athletes, he wished all the aspirants the very best and said: “I think the shooting team (Khaled Al Kaabi, Saeed A Maktoum, Saif bin Futtais) have a good chance.” ashwani@khaleejtimes.com