"The championship was a real test for the athletes and their coaches, as the results will be used to form a national team to compete in international SAMBO tournaments. And throughout the competition, we saw more than once how yesterday's newcomers not only fought back, but also beat the title favourites for the medals," said Alisher Alimov, President of the Uzbek SAMBO Association.

"Spectacular fights brought a large number of fans to the stands, so we can confidently say that the Uzbekistan SAMBO Championship has become a great sports festival for all fans of our sport," he pointed out.

Two of the biggest stars of the competition, 2023 SAMBO World Champions Gulzevar Urakova (women's -50kg) and Ibodatkhon Agodjonova (women's -59kg), lost their final bouts and finished with silver medals. Urakova lost the women's -54kg final to defending champion Farogat Nurmamatova.

Agodjonova lost to Mushtariy Zharkova in a rematch of the 2023 Uzbek National Championships, where Agodjonova was the strongest. Another medallist from Yerevan 2023, Mukhammedali Sadullaev (Combat SAMBO 64kg), also lost in the final to Islomzhon Olimzhonov. World bronze medallist Lutfilla Sayadmatov won the gold medal in the Combat SAMBO 58kg category.

According to the head of the national SAMBO team, the athletes will take a short break after the National championship. The Sambists, who performed well at the Tashkent competitions, will begin preparations for a major international competition - the World SAMBO Cup, which will be held in Yerevan in April.