Zuhursho Nurmahmadzoda: “SAMBO must be developed through children and a strong ground game”

Dushanbe hosted the World SAMBO Cup for the second year in a row. The tournament took place in a new sports venue, and more countries took part than a year ago. Zuhursho  Nurmahmadzoda, President of the Sambo Federation of Republic of Tajikistan, spoke about the organization of the event, the school league, plans for the national team, and what SAMBO means to him.

A second World Cup: a new arena and more participants

Last year the tournament was held at the Sports Complex of the Tajik National University. This time it moved to the hall of Dushanbe's largest Tennis Palace and Aquatics Complex.

“We are grateful to the International SAMBO Federation for trusting us to host the World Cup in Dushanbe. Everything is going great, without any problems. More countries are taking part this year, and the organization is excellent,” Nurmahmadzoda said.

Two years of growth

Nurmahmadzoda and his team have led the Sambo Federation of Republic of Tajikistan for several years. In that time the country has hosted international tournaments, including the World Masters SAMBO Championships and two World SAMBO Cups. In his view, this has already changed the situation at home.

“In two years, SAMBO in Tajikistan has come alive, and there are more athletes. When we hold the national championship, we get huge entries from all over the country, and the number of participants keeps growing,” the Federation President said.

More athletes are also coming over from other combat sports. Those who used to practice national wrestling or judo are increasingly switching to SAMBO. “They see our guys competing at such a high level. Besides, SAMBO now has something for every taste: some prefer Sport SAMBO, others Combat SAMBO. There are a lot of people who want to try,” he said.

The school league

One of the Federation's flagship projects is the school league. The Federation goes into secondary schools and takes their gyms under its wing. The aim is to let children train SAMBO right where they study. Sessions run separately from regular PE lessons, as an extra opportunity.

“We work specifically with schoolchildren. We go into secondary schools, take over the gyms, renovate them, bring in and lay down mats, and create every condition so that the children who study there can come and train,” Nurmahmadzoda explained.

So far, three or four schools in the capital have been equipped. Championships between them are already being held, and other schools are now applying to open sections of their own. “They say: open SAMBO at our school too, so our children can train here as well. That's how it took off,” he said.

According to the Federation President, children's interest is high. When the project started, each school had ten to twenty sign-ups; now it is forty to fifty. The project is about a year old, and the head of Tajikistan's SAMBO expects the numbers to keep growing.

Plans: ground work, submissions and visiting coaches

The Federation's sporting goals are tied to better results on the international stage. Nurmahmadzoda sees ground work as one of the main areas for improvement. Tajik athletes are used to national wrestling, which is contested standing up, while SAMBO demands a more all-round skill set.

“I've noticed that our guys often lose on the ground. SAMBO is a universal type of wrestling. You need ground work, throws and submissions,” he emphasized.

To close that gap, the Federation wants to bring in professional coaches from abroad to run master classes and training camps. “We want to introduce a different, more modern system, so that our athletes not only throw but can also wrestle on the ground and apply submissions. That's in our plans right now,” the Federation President said.

Another goal is producing world champions. Nurmahmadzoda has discussed it with the national team's head coach, himself a former world champion. “Not one champion every three years, but at least one or two every year. We are moving toward that, and we will reach this goal. We want to have champions in every tournament, in both Combat SAMBO and Sport SAMBO.”

SAMBO has long been popular in Tajikistan, he added: “It's a wrestling discipline that was already here in Soviet times. We have a lot of SAMBO fans, and it's one of our most important sports, even more so than judo. Everyone is waiting for results.”

SAMBO in the life of its president

Nurmahmadzoda came to SAMBO as a child. The first section he joined, back in 1989, was SAMBO. When Combat SAMBO later appeared in Tajikistan, he moved to that section. He competed in international tournaments in Russia and other CIS countries, and he has never stopped training.

“Sport is my hobby, and I still train. So we're developing SAMBO and sport as a whole,” he says.

SAMBO is a family affair: the Federation President's 17-year-old son practices Combat SAMBO. Asked what SAMBO means to him, Nurmahmadzoda answered: “Officially translated, it's self-defense without weapons. But for me, SAMBO is confidence, and the development of body and spirit. When a person does sport, SAMBO, they become more confident. And, of course, it's about raising children. SAMBO is part of my life.”

What's next

Next year Dushanbe will host the Asia and Oceania SAMBO Championships, on the same arena as the World Cup. “We will definitely hold it here. We'll run it at the best level and I'm sure everything will look great,” Nurmahmadzoda promised.