The Jekpe Jek Hall in Astana, Kazakhstan, is hosting the 2023 edition of the IBSA Judo Asian Championships.

From this Friday until Sunday, 85 judokas (58 men and 27 women) from 11 Asian countries will compete for the continental title. Indonesia, India, Iran, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Korea, Mongolia, Thailand, Chinese Taipei, and Uzbekistan will turn Astana into the Asian Judo Capital for three days.

“This competition is very important because it is part of the qualification for Paris 2024”, said Mr. János Tardos, IBSA Judo Sport Committee Chairperson. “The blind and visually impaired judo community has been growing. That has been clear since Tokyo 2020, with two new classes, J1 and J2, and now there are more than 400 athletes on our world ranking list. It’s an incredible number and shows the strength of para judo” he added.

The competition will start at 7am (CET, local time +4), with round by round on two tatamis for the following categories: J1 -73kg, J1 -48kg, and J2 -48kg (Mat 1); J2 -57kg, J2 -73kg, J1 -60kg, and J2 -60kg (Mat 2). From 11.30am there will be the final blocks and medal ceremonies.

On Saturday, competition starts again at 7am for the other categories: J1 -90kg, J1 +90kg, J1 +70kg, and J2 -70kg (Mat 1); J2 +90kg, J2 -90kg, J1 -57kg, J1 -70kg (Mat 2). The final blocks and medal ceremonies will start at 11 am.

On Sunday, it’s time for team competition. Men teams category: J1 -73kg, J2 -90kg, J1 +90kg, J2 -73kg, J1 -90kg, and J2 +90kg. Women teams categories: J1 -57kg, J2 -70kg, J1 +70kg, J2 -57kg, J1 -70kg, and J2 +70kg. Competition starts at 10am.

As usual, you can follow all the action on the IBSA YouTube channel or through the live button on the website’s home page.