Paris Olympics: UAE's Aram puts up a good fight against top guns

UAE judoka Aram Grigorian delivered a memorable performance at the Paris Olympics on Wednesday as he came close featuring in the bronze-medal playoff before losing to Tsilidis Theodoros of Greece.

Grigorian was in contention for a medal despite losing his quarterfinal bout to Murao Sanshiro of Japan in the under-90 kg category.

Having missed out on a place in the semifinal, Grigorian faced Theodoros in the repechage round but the Greek fighter was too strong for him.

Earlier, Grigorian won his first two matches on Tuesday against Swedish opponent Neiman Marcus and Uzbekistan’s champion Bobonov Davlat Balaybun.

Perhaps, the highlight of Grigorian’s performance on Wednesday was his victory over Neiman Marcus, who won the bronze medal at the 2023 World Judo Championships in Doha.

Six of the 14-member UAE team at the Paris Games are judokas.

“The qualification of six UAE judo players to participate in the Paris 2024 Olympics across various weight categories for both genders is an achievement for UAE judo,” Nasser Khalifa Al Budoor, Vice Chairman of the Judo Federation.

“This marks the fifth consecutive participation of UAE judokas in this global sporting event, reflecting the efforts of the National Olympic Committee. This effort aims to elevate the UAE sports flag, which enjoys the support and attention of the leadership that provides all the requirements for excellence in sports.”

On Tuesday, UAE swimmer Yousef Al Matrooshi finished 44th in the 100-metre freestyle heats.

But the 21-year-old swimmer managed to set a new personal best time of 50:39.