Judoka Maysa Pardaeva won the first medal for the Turkmenistan team - bronze - at the 19th Summer Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.An 18-year-old graduate of the Lebap wrestling school, a 1st year student at the Turkmen State Institute of Physical Education and Sports, achieved this remarkable success in the weight category up to 57 kg, in which 16 athletes competed for medals, the website “Turkmenistan: Golden Age” reports.
In the first match, Maysa defeated Manita Shrestha Pradhan from Nepal in just 53 seconds due to two scores of “Waza-Ari”. Then in the quarterfinals, in a bitter struggle, she lost to the bronze medalist of last year’s Grand Prix tournament in Almeida (Portugal), Korean Yunson Park.
In the consolation tournament, which left the Turkmen judoka a chance to compete for bronze, M. Pardaeva won against the winner of the Grand Prix of Dushanbe 2023, Shukurjon Aminova from Uzbekistan.
In the match for 3rd place, Maisa had to feel a lot of pressure.And not only from her rival from China - bronze medalist of the 2023 World Cup in Warsaw, the Grand Slam in Astana and the Grand Prix in Dushanbe Kai Qi, but also from the local spectators who powerfully supported their athlete.
But the Turkmen athlete passed the test with honor and won a clear victory in the 4th minute of the fight.
It is noteworthy that the rivals had previously met each other at an international tournament in Georgia. And then the Chinese woman won cleanly. And now Maysa has taken convincing revenge.
The winner of the second bronze medal in the weight category up to 57 kg was Yunsung Park (Republic of Korea). Silver went to Momo Tamaoki (Japan). And the gold goes to Lin Chen-Ling (Taiwan).
The current success of M.Pardaeva at the Asian Games is also significant because it was achieved in an Olympic sport, which gives great hope ahead of the Olympic Games in Paris in 2024.
This significant achievement of her pupil is rightfully shared by Maysa’s first coach in the Koytendag etrap of Lebap velayat - Jora Matnazarov and her current mentors - senior coach of the cadet (under 17 years old) and junior (under 20 years old) national teams of Turkmenistan Tatyana Vidyasova and working as a head coach with Japanese national team specialist Kazuhiko Tokuno.
Before this, M. Pardaeva became a two-time winner of the Junior Asian Cup in Almaty (2022) and Tashkent (2023). This year she also won silver at the 2023 Junior European Cup in Sarajevo and bronze at the Asian Open in Kuwait.
At the Asian Games in Hangzhou, Maysa Pardaeva was one of the standard bearers of the Turkmenistan team at the opening ceremony of the Games.
Sharing her emotions at a press conference held today after the award ceremony, Maisa frankly said that she was happy and expressed gratitude to the entire team for their preparation, as well as to the country’s leadership for the excellent conditions created for playing sports.
M. Pardaeva’s immediate plans include performance at the Junior World Championships, which will be held from October 4 to 7 in the Portuguese city of Odivelas.