Sport preview: Judo
Judo will be welcomed back as a Pacific Games sport during week two of the Games.
Thirteen nations will compete for medals decided over the two day event from 16-17 July with entry SAT$5.00 at the Gym 1, Faleata.
Athletes will be keen to demonstrate their skills after being absent from the Port Moresby XV 2015 Pacific Games in Papua New Guinea. Samoa is excited to welcome Judo back.
Fiji, Guam, Kiribati, Nauru, New Caledonia, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tahiti, Tonga, Tokelau, and Vanuatu are the competing nations. There are 9 men's events and 9 women's events so 18 gold medals will be decided in two days of fierce competition.
Judo has featured ten times since it was first introduced into the Pacific Games in 1969.
The last Pacific Games 2011 in New Caledonia where Judo was included, New Caledonia and Tahiti dominated the men’s categories while New Caledonia and Fiji dominated the women’s categories.
Meet Samoan Olympian +100kg, Judoka, Derek Sua, as he prepares for Samoa 2019 XVI Pacific Games.
New Caledonia has brought 16 athletes to the Samoa pacific games and it will be interesting to see how many medals they can claim after an eight year break.
Judo translates to the “gentle way”. Skill, technique and timing, rather than the use of brute strength, are the essential ingredients for success in Judo. Created at the end of the 19th century in Japan, it is generally categorised as a modern martial art and then evolved into an Olympic sport.
