The IKA media team continues to present interviews of the participants of the World Championship
Ibragim Karimov-IKA Referee commission Member (Uzbekistan)
At the age of 14 I started playing sports. At that time (1984), judo and sambo classes were held in sports schools. In 1988, my first kurash competition and prize were held in the village of Kizilcha, Nurota district of Navoi region.
Our national value of kurash was mainly held at weddings and folk festivities. At weddings in Navoi, I competed and won several times. After that, I couldn’t quit kurash.
You know, weddings have the most important aspect for athletes, who are applauded by people in this circle. The audience will applaud even if you win with a beautiful throw of athletes of the same area. They will be your fan because people love kurash. They love beautiful victories and this is why athletes are appreciated.
The next reason is, of course, the financial aspect. At the wedding, you will receive a prize for each of your victories, money, sheep, a bull and up to a car. It would not be a mistake to say that this is the motivation for athletes.
During my sports period, I have won kurash, sambo, and judo championships many times in Uzbekistan. I have fulfilled the standard of a master of sports of international class.
I joined kurash as a referee in 2002.
At that time, the International Kurash Academy was operating. At the same academy, I studied the secrets of kurash refereeing from the deceased Jorakul Tursunov and received a referee certificate of the international category.
I have judged international kurash tournaments, championships, world and continental championships of all levels held over the past 20 years, as well as the Asian Games.
The most memorable judging competition in my life was 2002. The 3rd Kurash Senior Championship was held in Erevan, Armenia. I was very excited when I took part in such a major championship for the first time. Then having a lot of experience and the responsibility of refereeing did not allow me to make a mistake.
The responsibility of the referee is that because of your minor mistake, the whole year’s work of the athlete may be meaningless. Perhaps next time he will not be lucky enough to take part in the World Championship. Another worst aspect is that because of you, the audience may have a bad attitude towards kurash.
Our favorite kurash is developing and gaining popularity day by day. The development of kurash is evidenced by national and international competitions held in recent years.
The recognition of kurash as an official sport in the programs of the Asian Games marked the beginning of a new era of kurash.
I think that refereeing in kurash has made a worthy contribution to these achievements.
In recent years, the International Kurash Association has regularly held referee seminars and exams in order to select talented referees.
The championships are headed by the most worthy referees. In fact, this is the idea of kurash. Compete to victory in an honest way. An honest refereeing guarantees an honest victory. And an honest victory is the philosophy of our kurash.
Thus, for the development of refereeing, the more work is done, the better. The audience is also watching which athlete won. The actions of the referee are also evaluated by the spectators. To every detail, whether it is an action or inaction, the referee should always be attentive and react in time. At the end of the competition, awarding a mysterious victory using “tanbeh” is not the job of a true referee.
I am also a member of the international panel of referees and experts of the International Kurash Association. This is a great trust in me. I am always grateful for the experience and appreciation of the knowledge I have on kurash.
I was glad that I was invited to the World Championship. To be honest, I started working on myself again. Because the World Championship is a competition of the highest level and we should be worthy of it.
