Adil Osmanov brought Moldova its first medal at the Universiade in Germany // Photo: instagram.com
In the final of the judo tournament, the 25-year-old Osmanov defeated Russia’s Armen Agayan, who competed in neutral status. On his way to the final, the Moldovan athlete defeated Chile’s Filipe Perez and Azerbaijan’s Nariman Mirzaev, before defeating Aron Szabo of Hungary in the semifinals. The bronze medalists were Hans-Joris Ahibo (France) and Ryuga Tanaka (Japan).
The Universiade was Osmanov’s first tournament after a one-year break, during which he underwent two surgeries. During this period he was supported by the head coach of the Moldovan national judo team Valeriu Duminica, President of the Judo Federation Andrei Golban, coaches Ilya and Mihail Buiuc. His colleagues from the General Inspectorate of Carabinieri also addressed the athlete with words of support. “An outstanding achievement is more than a personal victory. It is a source of pride for all those who support him, for our entire country and, of course, for us, carabinieri, who consider it an honor to have a real fighter by our side – a living example of courage and perseverance,” the congratulatory message reads.
Moldova is represented at the Summer Universiade by 31 athletes. The World Summer Universiade 2025 will feature 234 medal events in 18 sports. As of July 25, athletes from the USA (74 medals, 28 of which are gold) are leading in the team medal standings, while China (49 medals – 21 gold) and Japan (41 medals – 16 gold) are in second and third place. Moldova with one gold medal shares 30th place with Denmark, Israel, Ireland and Slovenia.
The tournament is hosted by several cities in the Rhine-Ruhr region of Germany – Bochum, Duisburg, Mülheim, Hagen and Essen, while the aquatics (swimming, diving) and volleyball competitions are held in Berlin.
