In Astana, on May 10-12, the world ranking judo tournament “Qazaqstan Barysy Grand Slam” will be held at the Martial Arts Palace named after Zhaksylyk Ushkempirov. This start will be the last stage of the Grand Slam series, which will bring judokas the necessary points to participate in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

This year our country will host the “Qazaqstan Barysy Grand Slam” tournament for the second time. The International Judo Federation (IJF) praised the organization of the competition last year. And this year we can say that the burden of responsibility has doubled. Because the last stage of the Grand Slam tournament on the eve of the Summer Olympic Games will be held here. Athletes will score rating points and it will become known who will receive a license for the Olympics. Our fellow countrymen will also take part in this competition. I hope that thanks to the enthusiastic support of our fans, our judokas will worthily defend the honor of the country and please our compatriots with bright victories. In recent years, judo has been actively developing in our country. Our compatriots regularly take part in Grand Slam competitions, Grand Prix, World Championships and Olympic Games and regularly appear among the winners,” said Ermek Marzhikpayev.

“Grand Slam” (“Grand Slam”) is included in the category of a series of world competitions held as part of the “IJF World Tour” according to the calendar of international tournaments. According to IJF rules, points in the world and Olympic rankings will be distributed among the winners and runners-up of the tournament. In particular, 1000 points will be awarded for 1st place, 700 for 2nd place and 500 points for 3rd place.

It should be noted that according to a bilateral agreement between the Kazakhstan Judo Federation and the International Judo Federation (IJF), Kazakhstan will host the world Grand Slam competitions until 2026.