The World Sambo Masters Championship took place in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan. About 400 athletes from 13 countries competed for medals in 7 age categories among sambo wrestlers over 35 years old.
On the first day sambo wrestlers of age categories M5 (55-59 years old), M6 (60-64 years old), M7 (65 years old and older) competed. On the second day, M3 (45-49 years old) and M4 (50-54 years old) age categories took to the mat. On the final third day medals were played in the categories M1 (35-39 years old) and M2 (40-44 years old).
According to the results of the team standings, the podium was as follows:
1st place FIAS (14 gold, 13 silver, 26 bronze)
2nd place Kazakhstan (11 gold, 14 silver, 19 bronze)
3rd place Tajikistan (11 gold, 11 silver, 20 bronze)
“The Sambo Federation of Tajikistan gave a warm welcome to all participants. Despite their age, the sambo wrestlers showed very spectacular and technical wrestling. I can’t help but mention Uzbek, Tajik and Russian sambo wrestlers, who had very spectacular and throwing matches.” — Mr. Rudolf Babayan, responsible for “Sambo among masters” in the International Sambo Federation, noted.