Austria’s largest judo tournament is in Oberwart for the eleventh time, for the ninth time with the status of a European Open as part of the European Judo Union (EJU) tour. 314 judoka – 107 women/207 men – from 38 nations and four continents demonstrate their sporting skills and the perfect mixture of body and mind that is inherent in this sport, originally developed in Japan for self-defence.
33 athletes from Austria, including number one seeded Olympic bronze medalist Shamil Borchashvili, are taking part in the competition. Provincial Councilor Dr. Leonhard Schneemann insisted on being present at the start of the tournament on Saturday and emphasized the importance of judo in terms of sport and economics.
“A tournament like this shows the Europe-wide importance of the Austrian sport of judo and is of economic importance for the region” LR Snowman
Landesrat Schneemann welcomed the holding of this tournament after a two-year break due to corona and was impressed by the top-class field of participants. “After all, there are also 6 Olympic champions. In hardly any other Olympic sport has Austria been as successful as in judo. There were two medals at the Olympic Games in Tokyo. The next milestones are to follow at the World Cup in autumn. And before that follows the preparation for the World Cup in Oberwart. And the chances for Austrians on the podium look good.” The International Association (IJF) sends the top 30 judges to this tournament and thus underlines its importance.
Schneemann also emphasized the economic and touristic importance that the sport of judo and top-class tournaments like this now have for the region: “I, as the Economic Provincial Councilor, am pleased that a total of 3,000 overnight stays can be attributed to the Judo European Open this year. After all, eight hotels are fully booked. This mega sporting event is therefore also an enormous economic factor,” concludes Provincial Councilor Schneemann.
The Oberwart Judo European Open 2022 lasts until tonight. Of the 33 Austrian judoka, six are seeded in the rankings for the Judo European Open, including Shamil Borchashvili as number one and Julia Sommer from Jennersdorf, a Burgenlander. Since the tournament was introduced in 2011, there have been a total of twelve red-white-red top three finishes in Oberwart, including nine wins.
