- Title: MONGOLIA: OLYMPICS - Mongolia aspires for judo gold at the London 2012 Olympics
- Date: 21st July 2012
- Summary: ULAN BATOR, MONGOLIA (RECENT) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF MEMBERS OF MONGOLIAN OLYMPIC JUDO TEAM AND YOUNG JUDO ATHLETES RUNNING THROUGH VALLEY ATHLETES TRAINING IN FRONT OF MOUNTAIN MONGOLIAN OLYMPIC JUDO GOLD MEDALLIST NAIDAN TUVSHINBAYAR WATCHING AND SMILING 'TEAM MONGOLIA' WRITTEN ON BACK OF ATHLETE'S SHIRT TUVSHINBAYAR AND OTHER ATHLETES DOING BACKWARD ROLLS IN OLYMPIC JUDO TRAINING CENTRE COACHES WATCHING TUVSHINBAYAR FLIPPING OVER ATHLETE TUVSHINBAYAR FLAWING ATHLETE TUVSHINBAYAR DOING FORWARD ROLL (SOUNDBITE) (Mongolian) MONGOLIAN OLYMPIC JUDO GOLD MEDALLIST NAIDAN TUVSHINBAYAR SAYING: "Of course we athletes are competing for our country. And I'm competing to be an Olympic champion again, and have my country's name be heard across the world. That's the main goal. As for myself, I am competing against myself." TIMER BEEPING TO START ROUND TUVSHINBAYAR AND OTHER ATHLETE STARTING TO FIGHT TUVSHINBAYAR AND OTHER ATHLETE WRESTLING, ATHLETE FLAWING TUVSINBAYAR COACH WATCHING AND SHOUTING TUVSHINBAYAR WIPING BLOOD AWAY FROM HIS EYE MEDIC CHECKING TUVSHINBAYAR'S BLOOD PRESSURE MEDIC REMOVING BAND AROUND TUVSHINBAYAR'S ARM TUVSHINBAYAR SPEAKING, GETTING UP (SOUNDBITE) (Mongolian) MONGOLIAN OLYMPIC JUDO GOLD MEDALLIST NAIDAN TUVSHINBAYAR SAYING: "In Mongolian families, there is nobody who is not interested in traditional Mongolian wrestling. Since I was a young child, I wrestled, and that's where the preparation for becoming a judo wrestler started." FEMALE AND MALE ATHLETES ROLLING, GETTING UP FEMALE ATHLETE SHOUTING FEMALE OLYMPIC ATHLETE LYING ON GROUND COACH BENDING DOWN TO LOOK AT ATHLETE VARIOUS OF OLYMPIC JUDO ATHLETE BUDMAA SEATED PATTING HER LEG (SOUNDBITE) (Mongolian) MEMBER OF MONGOLIA'S OLYMPIC JUDO TEAM MUNKHBAATAR BUNDMAA SAYING: "This year, I am going to participate in the Olympics, and I'm confident in myself. According to the International Judo Federation rating, I'm in first place. I'm confident in myself, and going to the Olympics is not a small thing. I will come back with a medal." OLYMPIC ATHLETES SEATED LISTENING PRESIDENT OF MONGOLIAN NATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE DEMCHIGJAV ZAGDSUREN SPEAKING TO ATHLETES FEMALE ATHLETE LISTENING (SOUNDBITE) (Mongolian) PRESIDENT OF MONGOLIAN NATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE DEMCHIGJAV ZAGDSUREN SAYING: "In our country, four kinds of sports have developed well. Judo, boxing, shooting and wrestling. We're hoping for success in these sports. At the last Olympics and in previous games, it was in these sports that we won medals. Our goal for London is to get at least four medals from these sports." OLYMPIC ATHLETES WALKING IN STADIUM DURING OPENING OF NAADAM FESTIVAL TUVSHINBAYAR AND OTHER ATHLETES WALKING VARIOUS OF TRADITIONAL MONGOLIAN WRESTLERS WARMING UP TWO WRESTLERS WALKING SLOWLY DURING ROUND THREE CHILDREN WEARING TRADITIONAL WRESTLING COSTUMES TWO CHILDREN WRESTLING
- Embargoed: 5th August 2012 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Mongolia
- Country: Mongolia
- Topics: Sports
- Reuters ID: LVA8HQ4UTW4MS7V22QBJ6M273P2I
- Story Text: Mongolia's Olympic judo team start their day bright and early, running across the rolling grasslands on which many of them were raised as nomadic herders.
And it's no surprise, because Mongolia is discovering that in its ancient traditions there lies Olympic gold.
Naidan Tuvshinbayar became a household name in 2008 when he won Mongolia's first ever Olympic gold medal, 44 years after the nation first competed in the Games.
And now the 28-year-old is hoping to defend his title in the men's under 100 kilograms class in London, likely his last Olympics.
"Of course we athletes are competing for our country. And I'm competing to be an Olympic champion again, and have my country's name be heard across the world. That's the main goal. As for myself, I am competing against myself," he said.
Tuvshinbayar's training in a mountain retreat 1,400 meters above sea level sees him tussle with one fellow judoka after another, in a test of endurance that leaves him gasping, groaning and even bleeding.
Thick-set Tuvshinbayar only took up Judo at the late age of 18.
But, like many of Mongolia's three million people who hail from the vast steppe, he grew up wrestling, a skill required both for handling livestock and for taking part in traditional festivals.
He even refers to his sport as "judo wrestling," which may account for a certain heavy-handedness.
"In Mongolian families, there is nobody who is not interested in traditional Mongolian wrestling. Since I was a young child, I wrestled, and that's where the preparation for becoming a judo wrestler started," he says.
Mongolia is putting weight behind its other judokas in London.
Khashbaatar Tsagaanbaatar has high hopes for the men's under 66 kilograms class, while Munkhbaatar Bundmaa is pitted for a medal in the women's under 52 class.
Almost 400 contenders from 134 countries, up from 96 in 2008, will battle it out in the seven weight categories for men and women during seven days of competition at London's ExCel exhibition centre.
And with traditional heavyweights like Japan looming large, competition is stiff.
But with golds at both Paris and Moscow Grand Slams in 2011, 26-year-old Bundmaa is not concerned.
"This year, I am going to participate in the Olympics, and I'm confident in myself. According to the International Judo Federation rating, I'm in first place. I'm confident in myself, and going to the Olympics is not a small thing.
I will come back with a medal," she said.
Mongolia also excels in Olympic wrestling, shooting and boxing, in which it took its second and only other gold in 2008.
President of the National Olympic Committee, Demchigjav Zagdsuren, put the success of these sports down to the country's traditional love of combat sports and the importance of archery for hunting.
"In our country, four kinds of sports have developed well. Judo, boxing, shooting and wrestling. We're hoping for success in these sports. At the last Olympics and in previous games, it was in these sports that we won medals.
Our goal for London is to get at least four medals from these sports," he said.
Once-impoverished Mongolia saw its economy grow by over 17 percent in 2011, thanks mainly to foreign investment in the huge mineral resources lying beneath its grassland and deserts.
This has meant dramatic increases in funding in recent years, filling a vacuum left after the country's split from the Soviet Union in 1990 and near economic collapse. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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