11:02am Saturday 21st March 2009
By Gazette Sports
THE English Open Judo Championships being held at Kendal Judo Club's dojo this weekend has become a major international tournament with the entry of seven Russian champions from St. Petersburg.
The St. Petersburg club has among its members Vladimir Putin the former Russian President and now its >> Prime Minister.
The competition had already been assured of a high standard when the British national squad managers had made the event a compulsory one for the National Squads.
It is to be used as a selection event for a number of European and World championships and Kendal's premises is considered to be ideal for the event.
Among the Russians entering are ECC U23yrs silver medallist Eyybov; ECC champions and gold medallists in several U20yrs Championships throughout Europe Tolasov and Betanov; the current Russian champion at U90 kilos Gasiev and super heavyweight World Cup silver medallist Dzhanaeb.
Kendal has not seen such a major sporting event for a very long time and everyone is welcome to come along and watch some of the top judo players in action. Each day's contests begin at 9am and continue non-stop throughout the day.
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