Skip to main content Skip to navigation
Accessibility

Text size

Page Colour

#Odivelas2018: Judo World Championships A-Z – athletes from L-O

Date: November 8, 2018

Category: Judo

The 2018 International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA) Judo World Championships will get underway in Odivelas, Portugal, from 16-18 November.

It is the biggest competition on the calendar and also an opportunity to grab qualification points for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.

All competitions will be shown live at IBSA’s YouTube channel and IBSA Judo’s Facebook page.

IBSA Judo is giving fans an insight into some of the athletes competing by describing at least one for each letter of the alphabet in an A-Z series.

L

China’s Li Liqing is the defending champion in the women’s up to 48kg. Still only 25-years-old, Liqing is also the Paralympic title holder.

But the Chinese judoka dropped down the order at the 2018 Asian Para Games in Jakarta, Indonesia. Liqing settled for bronze, losing out to eventual victor South Korea’s Soohee Choi in the semi-final.

World ranked No.3 Jung Min-Lee of South Korea won silver in the men’s up to 81kg at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games. He also claimed a win at the IBSA Judo World Cup in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, in late 2017. Most recently he has been on the podium again, winning silver at the 2018 Asian Para Games.

M

France’s Sandrine Martinet finally got the gold she had been working for in the women’s up to 52kg at Rio 2016 – her fourth Paralympics. Since then Martinet has dropped down to the women’s up to 48kg. She continued her winning form at the World Cup in Atyrau, Kazakhstan, in September.

France's Sandrine Martinet is pictured on her knees clenching her fists after winning gold at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games
Credit: OIS Photos

N

Algeria’s Moloud Nora will try to retain his gold from the 2014 World Championships in the men’s up to 60kg. The Beijing 2008 Paralympic champion ventured into the men’s up to 66kg earlier in 2018, but after a seventh place finish at an IBSA Judo World Cup in Atyrau he returned back to the lower weight category.

Uzbekistan’s Sherzod Namozov is a rival to Nora. Since claiming bronze behind the Algerian four years ago, Namozov has dominated. He has taken Paralympic, Asian and Asian Para Games titles and several World Cup wins.

O

Russia’s Natalia Ovchinnikova is the European silver medallist in the women’s up to 57kg. In 2018 the Russian made it onto the podium again at the Atyrau World Cup, finishing third.

The 2018 IBSA Judo World Championships will feature nearly 300 of the world’s best judoka from more than 40 countries.

As well as the livestream, live coverage will be available at IBSA Judo’s Twitter and Instagram.

Media accreditation is available by contacting [email protected].

Related Articles