Tajik sambo wrestlers have been dismissed from international tournaments because of Tajikistan’s US$900 debt to the International Federation of Amateur Sambo (FIAS).

The Tajikistan Federation of Sambo has reportedly not paid fees to FIAS, which is the world governing body for the sport of Sambo, for already three years.  Therefore, Tajikistan’s membership in the International Federation of Amateur Sambo has been suspended.

According to the FIAS official website, an annual fee to this Federation is 300.00 U.S. dollars.  

Representatives of the Tajikistan Federation of Sambo say the Federation has failed to pay fees over the past three years because of a difficult financial situation.  “We are currently seeking for sponsors,” they say.       

Sambo is one of the most popular types of sports in Tajikistan.  Tajik sambo wrestlers have annually participated in different international tournaments.  

Thus, Tajik athlete Behrouz Khojazoda won the gold medal for Tajikistan in the 2017 World Sambo Championships in Sochi, Russia, finishing first in -74kg weight category.  In the final he defeated Belarusian athlete Stepan Popov.

Another Tajik athlete – Akmaliddin Karimov – grabbed the silver medal for Tajikistan in the 2017 World Sambo Championships in Sochi, finishing second in -57kg weight category.

It is to be noted that known Tajik athlete Afzalsho Olimov was the first champion of the Soviet Union in Sambo in the 1950s.

Sambo is a Soviet martial art and combat sport (the word "SAMBO" is an acronym for SAMozashchita Bez Oruzhiya, which literally translates as “self-defense without weapons”).  Sambo is relatively modern since its development began in the early 1920s by the Soviet Red Army to improve their hand-to-hand combat abilities.  It was intended to be a merger of the most effective techniques of other martial arts.

The pioneers of sambo were Viktor Spiridonov and Vasili Oshchepkov. Oshchepkov died in prison as a result of the Great Purge after being accused of being a Japanese spy.  Oshchepkov spent several years living in Japan and training in judo under its founder Jigoro Kano.

Spiridonov and Oshchepkov independently developed two different styles, which eventually cross-pollinated and became what is known as sambo.  Compared to Oshchepkov's system, called "Free wrestling" in Russia (known in the West as Catch as Catch Can wrestling or simply Catch wrestling), Spiridonov's style was softer and less brutal.  It was also less strength-dependent, which in large part was due to injuries Spiridonov sustained during World War I.

Anatoly Kharlampiyev, a student of Vasili Oshchepkov, is also considered a founder of sambo.  In 1938, it was recognized as an official sport by the USSR All-Union Sports Committee.

The World Championships in sports and combat SAMBO have been staged since 1973.  The Championship in different years was hosted by Greece, Belarus, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Russia and Morocco.