Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Kosovo’s Emergence as a Force in Judo

As a consequence of the COVID-19, the Olympic Games that were supposed to happen in 2020, are now taking place with a one-year delay. Tokyo is witnessing the performances of the best athletes in the world, all aiming to leave marks in this competition in order to make their nations proud. The athletes of Kosovo aren’t an exception to this objective. Despite being a small country, the youth of Kosovo has demonstrated rare talent in a variety of sports.

Tokyo 2020 Olympics Team

The team that is representing Kosovo in the Tokyo Olympic Games 2020 consists of 11 people; six females and five males. The list is led by the gold medal winner in the previous Olympic Games in Rio, Majlinda Kelmendi (judo), Distria Krasniqi (judo), Nora Gjakova (judo), Loriana Kuka (judo), Akil Gjakova (judo), Egzon Shala (wrestling), Donjeta Sadiku (boxing), Drilon Ibrahimi, Eda Zeqiri (swimming), Olt Kondirolli (swimming), and Musa Hajdari (athletics).

As it can easily be noticed, almost half of the representatives come from the sport of Judo. And there is nothing surprising about that! The Kosovo Judo Federation was accepted in 2012 as a full member of the International Judo Federation. Currently, there are 12 active clubs from different cities in Kosovo. The number of participants from all clubs is 750 Males and 250 Females. While the number of active coaches is 25. Thus, judo has emerged as being one of the most sought out sports in Kosovo due to recent years’ successes.

Gold medals

Majlinda Kelmendi was the first judoka to leave significant traces in this sport. At the 2013 World Judo Championships in Rio de Janeiro, Kelmendi won the gold medal, giving Kosovo its first-ever judo world title. But her success culminated in the summer of 2016 when she won the gold medal at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. It was the first gold medal, or any other medal, for Kosovo as a newly declared state in 2008. Four years later, two other females have followed the legacy of Majlinda. This Saturday, Distria Krasniqi managed to win against Funa Tonaki and win the gold medal. Her success was widely celebrated by Albanians across different countries. But this wasn’t the end for the success of Kosovo in judo. Today, Nora Gjakova increased the all-time overall tally of gold medals to three by beating France’s Sarah Leonie Cysique in the process.

The best ambassadors

Lastly, it must be noted that judo is not the only sport in which the athletes of Kosovo have demonstrated great success. Despite not representing Kosovo, football players like Xherdan Shaqiri, Granit Xhaka, Valon Behrami, and the list goes on, are all deeply rooted in Kosovo. This goes on to reveal the potential that the youth of this country have.

Congratulations to the Olympic team of Kosovo, especially to Distria Krasniqi and Nora Gjakova, for proudly representing their nation at the Tokyo Olympic Games 2020, and for allowing the youth of this country to dream of reaching the same top levels in other fields as well.

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