By Waqar Naseem Wamiq

RIYADH — The Japan Embassy, in cooperation with General Sports Authority, Saudi Olympic Committee and Saudi Judo Federation recently held the Ambassador’s Cup of Judo along with Kingdom Open Championship 2018.

Ambassador Tsukasa Uemura witnessed the final matches of each weight category and performance of the winning team during the self-defense technique competition. He awarded prizes to the winners, along with Brig. Khalid Al-Oraini, president of Saudi Judo Federation.

All the finals contests were passionate and dramatic, with some of the come-from-behind wins taking the audience’s breath away. The self-defense teams’ show also evoked big cheers with the teams demonstrating how Judo techniques are utilized for self-protection.

An elder and kids walked into the field and the next moment the audience were witnessing an astonishing skills of judo in which those knowing the sport were skillfully parrying attacks, one after another, from even stronger opponents.

After the demonstration, the team put up national flags of Saudi Arabia and Japan, which represented the cordial and historical relationship of the two countries and crystallized the shared value — respect. Ambassador Uemura praised each participant’s effort and lauded the quality of Saudi Judo.

Tokyo will host the 2020 Olympics and Paralympics, and Saudi Arabia and Japan have invigorated sports cooperation and exchange in the field of sports including Judo. The Embassy and the Saudi Judo Federation have invited top coaches from Japan and sent Saudi national players for the training there. The future success of Saudi Judo players is greatly anticipated.