There are only a few days left before the start of the XXXIII World Olympics in Paris. Today we will introduce you to two representatives of the Turkmenistan Olympic judo team – 20 years old Serdar Rahimov and 19 years old Maysa Pardayeva.

Both athletes are from Lebap velayat. Serdar represents the judo school of the Hojambaz etrap (the first coach is Bayram Sherapov), and Maysa represents Koytendag (the first coach is Jora Matnazarov).

According to the “Neutral Turkmenistan” newspaper, the Olympians already have many medals from major international competitions. Serdar became the first Turkmen athlete to win gold at the “Grand Slam” tournament in Dushanbe in May this year. In the weight category up to 66 kg, he won five victories, including the final over the host of the competition, Obid Dzhebov.

In 2024, S. Rahimov also became a silver medalist at the European Open Cup in Riga and the European Open Championship in Warsaw. At the last tournament, Maisa Pardayeva won gold in the weight category up to 57 kg, defeating the Serbian athlete in the final.

At the Grand Slam tournament in Dushanbe, Maysa entered the top five. She won a bronze medal at the 2023 XIX Asian Summer Games in China. Maysa is one of the strongest young judokas in Asia, which she confirmed with her victory at the 2023 Asian Cup in Tashkent.

The success of Turkmen judokas is largely due to the work of the Japanese coach Kazuhiko Tokuno, the source notes. The 7th dan black belt holder has been coaching the men's and women's national teams since April 2023.

Tokuno is a titled athlete, winner of the 1995 Asian Championship and 1998 Asian Games, silver medalist of the 1999 World Championship and bronze medalist of the 2001 World Championship. For many years he led Japanese women's teams of all ages. In 2011, the International Judo Federation (IJF) recognized Tokuno as the best coach.