Tajik athlete Razavi Navabahorov has won silver medal at the 25the Asian Sambo Championships in Mongolia, finishing second in the 70-kg category.
Mongolia hosted the Asian Sambo Championships for the third time and athletes from 14 countries including Iran, Japan, India, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, China, North Korea, Afghanistan and Uzbekistan were competing in the tournament.
According to MONTSAME news agency (Mongolia), more than 400 athletes participated in the 25th Sambo Asian Championships in juniors, youth and adults age categories.
The 25th Asian Sambo Championships were held at the Buyant Ukhaa Sports Complex in Ulaanbaatar between May 10 and 14
Sambo is a Soviet martial art and combat sport (the word "SAMBO" is an acronym for SAMozashchita Bez Oruzhiya, which literally translates as “self-defense without weapons”). Sambo is relatively modern since its development began in the early 1920s by the Soviet Red Army to improve their hand-to-hand combat abilities. It was intended to be a merger of the most effective techniques of other martial arts.
The pioneers of sambo were Viktor Spiridonov and Vasili Oshchepkov. Oshchepkov died in prison as a result of the Great Purge after being accused of being a Japanese spy. Oshchepkov spent several years living in Japan and training in judo under its founder Jigoro Kano.
Spiridonov and Oshchepkov independently developed two different styles, which eventually cross-pollinated and became what is known as sambo. Compared to Oshchepkov's system, called "Free wrestling" in Russia (known in the West as Catch as Catch Can wrestling or simply Catch wrestling), Spiridonov's style was softer and less brutal. It was also less strength-dependent, which in large part was due to injuries Spiridonov sustained during World War I.
Anatoly Kharlampiyev, a student of Vasili Oshchepkov, is also considered a founder of sambo. In 1938, it was recognized as an official sport by the USSR All-Union Sports Committee.
The World Championships in sports and combat SAMBO have been staged since 1973. The Championship in different years was hosted by Greece, Belarus, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Russia and Morocco.
