Russian President’s Sambo Cup in Tokyo postponed until late July over coronavirus

TOKYO, January 20. /TASS/. Japan’s annual Sambo wrestling championship, which is also called the Russian President’s Cup or Putin’s Cup, has been moved from February 7 to July 25 due to the ongoing spread of the novel coronavirus in the country, Nobuyuki Asai, the vice president of the Japan Sambo Federation, told TASS on Wednesday. "A decision was made to reschedule the Russian President’s Sambo Cup from February 7 to July 25," Asai said adding that the Executive Committee of the tournament was ready to organize the competitions in a safe and secure environment under the conditions of the COVID-19 spread, however, concerns, voiced by many athletes and coaches, forced the organizers to postpone the tournament. The vice president of the Japan Sambo Federation also pointed out that the new date of the tournament coincides with the Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo. "This is very good that concurrently with the Olympic Games in Tokyo we will hold the Russian President’s Sambo Cup, which is not on the official program of the Olympic competitions," Asai added. This will be the ninth annual sambo championship in Japan with the main prize named after Russian President Vladimir Putin. Last year, about 100 Sambo wrestlers participated in this tournament. The epidemiological situation in Japan began deteriorating last November gaining momentum in December and January. As of today, Japan is ranked 39th in the world in terms of reported COVID-19 cases, which currently stand at 334,328. More than 4,540 people died of the novel coronavirus infection, while over 257,700 recovered from the illness. On January 7, the Japanese government imposed a state of emergency in the 37.4 million metropolitan area of Greater Tokyo, which includes the prefectures of Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama and Chiba, due to the rapid spread of the novel coronavirus. The state of emergency was declared to be in force through February 7. Sambo wrestling Sambo wrestling originated in Russia in the 1920s, when soldiers of the then-Soviet Army developed their own hand-to-hand combat technique. The word Sambo is a Russian acronym, which stands for "self-defense without weapons." Russian President Vladimir Putin stated in 2016, speaking about Sambo wrestling and its global perspectives, that the Russia-originated wrestling should be included in the Olympic program, but it would require a lengthy and labor-consuming period. In November 2018, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) issued its official recognition for Sambo wrestling as an Olympic competition, which can help the sport to officially enter the Olympic program of wrestling competitions in the future and to secure a financial assistance on behalf of the global Olympic body. Read more