DUSHANBE, November 1, Asia-Plus - On Tuesday October 31, a group of Tajik wrestlers left for the Bulgarian capital city of Sofia to participate in FIAS World Sambo Championships that will kick off there on November 4, according to Tajikistan’s Sambo Federation.

A source at the Sambo Federation told Asia-Plus three athletes from Sughd (Muhammadali Pardayev, Abulfayz Mulloyev and Faridun Ustopirov), one from Dushanbe (Rustam Shamsov) and one from Vahdat (Pulod Soliyev) will represent out country in this Sambo event that runs through November 6.   

Sambo is a grappling martial art with origins in all 15 of the former Soviet republics.  The Soviet Union was known for having varying forms of folk wrestling and needed a way for the different republics to compete against each other without having different rules and techniques. They combined the various forms of folk wrestling and created the martial art of Sambo.