KATHMANDU, March 10: Nepal Judo Association (NJA) organized a seminar on Sunday to inform coaches and players about the new international rules of judo which have come into effect from February this year.
According to NJA officials, the rules have been changed by the International Judo Federation (IJF) to promote fair play and minimize injury to players.[break]
“Players cannot use two hands to get rid of an opponent´s grip. Any move that is intended to hurt the opponent becomes punishable,” said Birendra Ranjit, the chief coach of Nepali judo.
Chief coach Ranjit says that referees have to take strict decisions to ensure fair play in the game.
As per the new rules, players will not be allowed to touch the opponent´s body below the belt. Any player doing so will be disqualified immediately.
“The rules have been changed to minimize fouls. It also encourages players to throw their opponent rather than waste time to gain advantage,” he added.
Judo coach Rajesh Karmacharya says that the rules were changed after reviewing the games of the 2012 London Olympics, which saw more players winning matches through penalties rather than scoring points.
“The matches during the recent Olympics were not appealing. Hopefully, that will change after the new rules are implemented. Judo becomes interesting only when the players throw their opponents,” said Karmacharya.
The new rules, which will remain in effect till 2016, require players to check their weight just before a match and a doctor needs to approve the judoka´s participation in the match after a thorough examination.
There will also be one referee instead of three for every game. The other two will be judging from outside and supporting the main referee with inputs from microphone.
Meanwhile, NJA distributed judo mats and judo-gis provided by IJF to different district associations and children homes that have been contributing to the development of judo in Nepal.
District judo associations of Saptari, Kanchanpur, Bardiya and Banke as well as orphanages CWCN, PAM, OCCID, HOPAD and KIDS received 20 sets of mats and five sets of judo-gis each, according to NJA President Deepak Harsha Bajracharya.
“We have provided the mats and gis to motivate the players. It is also a part of expanding the game to different districts,” said Bajracharya.
Bajracharya also handed over scholarship amount to judo player Pushpa Bhandari, who defied odds to win medals in national and international tournaments despite having deformed limbs. Bajracharya had earlier pledged support for Bhandari’s education up to the tenth standard.
NJA also bade farewell to its kata team that is scheduled to take part in the Third Asian Kata Championship to be held in Singapore from March 13 to 18. Narendra Dangol and Devendra Karmacharya are representing Nepal in the championship.