Paris 2024: High hopes for hometown hero Martinet in Para judo
Azerbaijan has been the country to beat in recent Games but face plenty of competition 04 Sep 2024
Para judo will be staged in a stunning location at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games - and the competition promises to be just as eye-catching as the venue.
Created temporarily to host art, fashion and sports events in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower, Champ de Mars Arena – built using sustainable materials – will provide a unique location.
Originating in Japan in the late 19th century, judo is one of two martial arts at this edition of the Paralympic Games. Para judo made its debut in Seoul in 1988 with six men’s events. Women were added the programme at Athens 2004 and when the sport returned to its spiritual home – the Nippon Budokan – at Tokyo 2020, there were 13 events - seven for men, six for women. This time, there will be eight events per gender, with four weight divisions for each divided into two classifications - B1 for athletes with complete blindness; B2 for those with visual impairments.
What hasn’t changed are the basics of the sport, as a judoka tries to pin, throw, hold and immobilise their opponent. Just like its Olympic counterpart, the ultimate aim in para judo is to achieve the sport’s version of a knockout blow - ‘ippon’, a throw that places the opponent on their back, a submission, or pinning them down for 20 seconds.
Two ‘waza-ari’, a less impactful version of ippon, will also end the contest. If neither is achieved, each four-minute match will be awarded to the judoka with the highest score. If the match is tied, Golden Score – the first points scored thereafter – achieves victory.
Because of their visual impairments, para judoka are guided on to the tatami (judo mat), and start each match by gripping their opponent’s uniform, known as ‘judogi’. They then have to use their other senses, particularly touch, to outwit, outmanoeuvre and overpower their opponent.
While Japan have traditionally been para judo’s powerhouse, recent Paralympic Games have involved a changing of the guard. Azerbaijan dominated the event in Tokyo, winning six of a possible 13 gold medals, but with 22 National Paralympic Committees claiming at least one medal, compared to 18 in Rio, Paris promises to be the most open competition yet.
Five stories to follow...
Parmar aiming to ‘make history’ for India
India are a coming Paralympic force. Having won only four gold medals before 2021, the world’s most populous nation won five in Tokyo – but they have yet to claim a single medal in judo.
If Kapil Parmar has anything to do with it, that is all about to change. He comes into Paris as the world No.1 ranked judoka in the J1 -60kg category, having followed up his Asian Para Games silver medal in 2023 with several IBSA (International Blind Sports Federation) Grand Prix titles. Now, the 24-year-old wants to “make history” for his country by winning Paralympic gold.
Banitaba looking to build on Iran success
Joining Parmar in the J1 -60kg category will be Seyed Meysam Banitaba Khoram Abadi, who won gold at the IBSA Grand Prix in Heidelberg in February. “Meysam is a motivated and skilled judoka with minimal losses in recent years,” fellow Iranian Vahid Nouri said. “I am confident he will achieve one of the top medals.”
In Tokyo, Nouri won Iran’s first-ever judo Paralympics gold medal – in the -90kg – and it was quickly followed by their second, courtesy of Mohammadreza Kheirollahzadeh in the +100kg. Expect more in Paris. “Our success in winning two gold medals in Tokyo led to a resurgence of interest in para judo in Iran,” Nouri explained. “This brought greater attention to our discipline and earned us respect within society, resulting in heightened expectations for us.”
Parisian fairytale beckons for Martinet at sixth Games
One judoka who knows all about carrying the weight of a nation on her shoulders is Sandrine Martinet. Hailing from the eastern suburbs of Paris, the mother of two, physiotherapist and double world champion once said: “I like to face the challenges. I like to surpass myself. It takes a lot of sacrifices but it also brings me a lot.”
This will be her sixth Paralympic Games and, after claiming silver at Athens 2004, Beijing 2008 and Tokyo 2020, and gold at Rio 2016, victory in in her home city at the age of 41 would surely be her crowning glory.
Third time lucky for Romania’s Bologa?
What would winning gold in Paris mean to Florin Alexandru Bologo? “It would probably be one of the happiest days of my life because I would fulfil my biggest dream in sport.”
More than that, it would be the culmination of a journey that began when Bologo lost his eyesight, aged six. “When I won bronze at Rio 2016, I told myself, ‘I can! Impossible is nothing’.”
He repeated the feat at Tokyo 2020 but, as world No.1 in the J1 -73kg since 2019, gold is the aim in Paris for the 28-year-old.
Azerbaijan’s Tokyo dominance set to continue
After a bumper haul of 14 golds, one silver and four bronze, Azerbaijan’s Paralympic medallists returned home to a hero’s welcome after Tokyo 2020.
“Everyone in Azerbaijan waited for us in the airport with enthusiasm,” said Sevda Valiyeva, one of six judo gold medallists. “I hadn’t imagined such a magnificent welcoming. Everyone was there – music, hundreds of people, media.”
She has since taken time away from the sport to get married and have a baby but believes Azeri judo will be stronger than ever in Paris.
“It's not a coincidence that our first Olympic and Paralympic champions were in judo,” she explained.
“Judo means to Azeri people ‘the right way’. That is why most people in Azerbaijan love this sport.
“There is always so much attention and care paid to all judokas. We have very professional Azeri trainers and good sport complexes.”
Judo at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games takes place at the Champ de Mars Arena, 5-7 September
