A good problem in judo is when you have too many high level players in the same category. Japan often has this problem, especially in their lightweight divisions where there are up to three or four top players vying for the top spot.
Belgium doesn’t have that problem yet in its U81kg division, but it does have two Top 10 fighters and a promising newcomer who should soon be making a splash in that division.
The best U81kg fighter is Matthias Casse, 25, world champion, European champion and Olympic bronze medalist. At that time, he was also ranked No. 1 in the world. It is undeniable that he is the best dog in this category.
However, at number 6 in the world rankings is Sami Chouchi, who is hot on the heels of Casse. He has proven to be extremely capable and has beaten former world champion Sagi Muki of Israel twice this year, including in Tel Aviv, where Muki had the home advantage. Shushi’s main flaw is his age. He is 29 years old.
In a distant number 6, Abdul Malik Umayev is little known. Few would recognize the 21-year-old right now, but we expect that to be a known amount soon. Umayev has just made his senior debut but performed very well at the recent Antalya Grand Slam where he showed great throwing skills and won a bronze medal.
Watch Umayev win bronze in Antalya with the morote-seoi-nage fall below.
We expect him to be close to Chouchi and Casse in no time. It will only be good for Belgian judo. With three very capable athletes in the U81kg division, they will be able to push each other to be the best they can be.
There are many young athletes of Chechen origin in Belgium, some even reached the level of the national junior team and participated in the European Junior Championships last year.
Athletes of Chechen origin U81kg
Abdul Malik Umayev (BEL)
Turpal Tepkaev (RUS)
Abas Azizov (RUS)
Shamil Borchashvili (AUT)
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