Armenia is a landlocked country of Transcaucasia, positioned just south of the great mountain range of the Caucasus and fronting the north-western edge of Asia. Armenia is bounded by Georgia, Azerbaijan, Iran and Türkiye. The capital city is Yerevan. Modern Armenia embraces only a small portion of ancient Armenia, one of the world’s oldest centres civilization. The population sums to a little over 2.7 million (2021) spread across 29,743 km². 

The National Judo Federation of Armenia was established in 1972 and today, there are over 3000 judoka practicing on the weekly basis. Although their Olympic medal moment yet to be met, their Olympic representation has been completed on several occasions with the latest attendee being Ferdinand KARAPETIAN, who competed in the -73kg category at the Tokyo Games.

Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, ROUND 2 KAZ SMAGULOV vs ARM KARAPETIAN, -73 kg.
© (c) Di Feliciantonio Emanuele

Still, the value of judo in this country is way beyond any shiny rounded hardware.  Watch the video below to have a better understanding on how judo is represented through this heartwarming content.

Creating a Better Armenia with Judo. © Zartonk Media

There is always a story behind every achievement… with his city in debris, Hovhannes DAVTYAN arrived to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games as the sole Armenian judoka. The International Olympic Committee via their Olympic Channel featured Davtyan in their Original Fuel series to truly display the obstacles some of the athletes having to go through to accomplish their dreams. Press on to see the full video.

Moving onto the world championships stage, one of Armenia’s fuelled youth clamped a historical cadet world title last year. This memorable moment was delivered by Gor KARAPETYAN who seized the -81kg category. It might have been the first yet, undoubtedly, not the last…

Gor KARAPETYAN © Carlos Ferreira

Armenia celebrated a few European medals throughout history. However, two European Championships titles were obtained by Nazaryan ARMEN in 2005 and Ferdinand KARAPETIAN in 2018. Armenia, a small delegation with tremendous spirit.

Off the mat…did you know? 

• Yerevan is one of the oldest cities in the world. Yerevan is 29 years older than Rome. 
• The Armenian alphabet is one of the most advanced in the world.
• Armenia is considered to be the homeland of apricot. 
• Armenian bread is in the list of UNESCO world Heritage. 
• The oldest shoes: In September 2008, in the village of Areni, the oldest shoe in the world was discovered. It ages over 5500 years. 

Author: Szandra Szogedi

https://www.eju.net/federation-friday-armenia/