In this episode of Focus, we attend the inaugural World Gushtingiri Championships in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.
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00:00Gustingri is the mother of all other sports like judo, wrestling, sambo, kurash, sambo
00:08kurash.
00:09We come from Tajik national Gustingri.
00:21Tajikistan situated in the heart of Central Asia and home to more than 10 million people.
00:28It's also the founding nation of Gustingiri, their national sport.
00:32And Dushanbe, the capital, is the setting for the first World Gustingiri Championships.
00:49With a history that goes back over 5,000 years, Gustingiri is an ancient Tajik sport and a
00:55traditional form of wrestling.
00:57Gustingiri or Gustin itself comes from the Sanskrit word kushti, which means belt.
01:03Kushti or Gustin means taking the belt from each other, which gradually developed into
01:07Gustin and Gustingiri.
01:10The first World Championships was a pivotal moment for the sport as Dushanbe welcomed
01:15the international community to a two-day sporting spectacle.
01:20It's so important and we meet people from all over the world, so my background is judo.
01:24Judo has led me to amazing friends that have introduced me to kurash, and then by meeting
01:29people doing kurash, they've introduced me to, you know, to Tajikistan and to come and
01:33try Gustingiri.
01:34You know, it's an amazing opportunity.
01:37Very few British people have come to this country, few people have heard of the sport,
01:41but we get the privilege of being the first ever to compete in an international championships
01:46here and hopefully take some back.
01:49Over 60 countries are competing in six male and three female weight categories, and as
01:55you can see from the packed out stadium behind me, it's hugely popular.
02:04The rule of the international Kushtingiri is about three referees started walking inside
02:10and two side referee, one center referee, and for the men, they start for five minutes
02:16for the adult and four minutes for the woman.
02:19And when we say gireed, it means start.
02:23When we say istad, it means stop.
02:26And we have three points exactly.
02:29The smallest one is badan.
02:32The second one is pahloo.
02:35The third one is halal.
02:38It means finish.
02:39And for the warning, start again, we have agahi.
02:44We have tambikh and we have kharij.
02:48That's the rule of the Kushtingiri.
02:50So in judo, we have the advantage of a repercharge.
02:53So if we make a mistake, we have a second chance, a second fight.
02:56Here, there is none of that, so the pressure is really on to win, get through those first
03:00rounds and get into the medals.
03:02Such is its popularity that they've been caused for it to be developed internationally and
03:07made an Olympic sport.
03:08I love this atmosphere because it gives a good vibe, good ambience and I love it.
03:15After I went to Olympiade in Paris, this is the best for the martial art.
03:21I hope that Kushtingiri will be in Olympic Games in future and it will be international
03:28and I like it very much.
03:30The competition also coincided with the International Kushtingiri Federation Congress and elections.
03:37First of all, the international federation is needed to develop this sport all over the
03:43world, to popularize it all over the world, first of all.
03:47And today we are witnesses to the fact that 61 countries are participating in this world
03:53championship.
03:54This is already a great achievement because this is the first world championship and we
03:58hope that over time the number of countries will only increase.
04:02The championships were an opportunity to bring nations together through sport as well
04:07as being a platform to showcase the rich culture and hospitality of Tajikistan.
04:12The awards for winners were personally presented by the President of Tajikistan, Emomali Rahmon
04:18and the Mayor of Dushanbe, Rustam Emomali.
04:33As the sport grows in popularity internationally, all eyes will look to Tajikistan and its role
04:50as the pioneering country of ancient and modern day Kushtingiri.