There was only one Armenian judoka on the tatami but his presence carried far greater significance than the size of the delegation might suggest. Aleks Mkrtchyan, accompanied by his coach and father Nerses Khachatryan, became the first Armenian representative to participate in an EJU Get Together event. Better still, Aleks did not only arrive to experience the occasion. He left Gdańsk with a bronze medal.

The family, however, began their journey long before the medal ceremony. “I have been coaching Aleks in judo for about five years. Previously, I wasn’t even aware that such tournaments took place. A friend of mine runs a group in Armenia that works with children facing these specific challenges, and he told me that such tournaments were being held in Europe.”

That curiosity quickly turned into action. Khachatryan began searching for opportunities through the European Judo Union before eventually establishing contact with Marina Drašković, Head of the EJU Adapted Judo Commission. “After I found the relevant information and got in touch with Marina Drašković via WhatsApp. She explained in detail how everything works, and I began making plans.”

It is one of the clearest measures of how far adapted judo has progressed. A project which only three years ago was working to establish its foundations is now being discovered from thousands of kilometres away. Coaches are searching for it, families are finding opportunities through it and, crucially, those who experience it are already thinking about how to bring the concept home.

For Armenia, the first step required preparation. Khachatryan spent two to three months preparing Aleks specifically for the Gdańsk event. The result was a first international experience that surpassed his expectations. “Participating in a tournament like this is very important to me. Since it was our first time, I couldn’t necessarily expect very high results but Aleks performed much better than I anticipated and took an honourable third place.”

The bronze medal provided a memorable conclusion to Armenia’s first appearance however, Khachatryan is already looking beyond one weekend and one result. “I plan for us to participate in tournaments frequently in the future so that we can achieve even greater success.” 

That enthusiasm extends beyond Aleks. Khachatryan wants the experience gained in Gdańsk to become a starting point for developing adapted judo in Armenia and creating opportunities for more people to discover the sport. “I want to develop adapted judo in Armenia because it is a very important form of the sport. It was interesting for me to get to know children facing these challenges more closely, to interact with them on a deeper level and to prepare them for competitions.”

For someone whose relationship with judo spans three decades, the desire to expand its reach comes naturally. Khachatryan competed himself before moving into coaching, a role he has held for the past ten years. Today, much of his work takes place in Echmiadzin, where he continues his efforts to develop judo. His explanation of what the sport means to him perhaps also explains why discovering the Get Together Tour immediately resonated. “For me, judo is life. Judo is in our blood. Everyone who practises judo is like family to us, all over the world, regardless of nationality.”

It is a sentiment that could equally describe the development of the adapted judo movement itself. What started with the task of creating opportunities is becoming an expanding European network. Each event brings together not only judoka and coaches, but more importantly their families, national federations and communities, allowing knowledge and experience to travel back across borders.

Gdańsk provided another striking example of that growth. The third edition welcomed 175 judoka from eight nations, double the participation of 2025, while established adapted judo nations returned alongside those taking their first steps. Now Armenia can be added to that map.

One judoka. One coach. One bronze medal. Yet behind those numbers sits something considerably bigger: a father who searched for an opportunity for his son, discovered a growing judo community and returned home determined to build one of his own. Three years ago, adapted judo was beginning its journey within the EJU. In Gdańsk, Armenia began theirs and judging by Khachatryan’s ambition, this was only the first step.