Arina Kachan (born 5 March 1994) is a Belarusian judoka, who has been ranked number one in the world in the women's + 70 kg weight class. She has won multiple medals for her country at the IBSA World Games, IBSA European Judo Championships and the IBSA World Judo Championships.

Arina Kachan
Personal information
National teamBelarus
Born (1994-03-05) March 5, 1994 (age 30)
Sport
CountryBelarus
SportJudo
DisabilityVisual impairment
Weight class+ 70 kg
Achievements and titles
Paralympic finals5th: 2012, 2016
Highest world ranking1
Medal record
Women's judo
Representing  Belarus
IBSA European Judo Championships
Silver medal – second place 2015 Odivelas + 70 kg
Bronze medal – third place 2011 Crawley Under 70 kg
IBSA World Games
Silver medal – second place 2015 Seoul + 70 kg
Bronze medal – third place 2011 Antalya Under 70 kg
IBSA World Judo Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2014 Colorado + 70 kg

Career

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Arina Kachan was born on 5 March 1994,[1] and competes for Belarus in judo. Initially in the under 70 kg weight class, she won a bronze medal at the International Blind Sports Federation World Games in Antalya, Turkey in 2011 and at the IBSA European Judo Championships in Crawley, England, also in that year. She was called up to the Belarus team for the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, England, where she finished fifth after losing in a bronze medal match.[1]

In 2014, Arina Kachan won a bronze medal in the women's + 70 kg weight class at the IBSA Judo World Championships held in Colorado, United States.[1] At the 2015 IBSA World Games in Seoul, South Korea, Kachan was defeated by Russian judoka Irina Kalyanova in the final, only winning the silver medal.[2] Later in the year, she took silver again at the IBSA European Judo Championships after being defeated by the world number four, Turkey's Mesem Tasbag.[3]

Going into the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Kachan was ranked first in her weight class, although was not considered to be the favourite – instead reigning Paralympic champion Yanping Yuan was expected to win.[4] Kachan was defeated on the way to the final, having been seeded for the tournament,[1] and fought Tasbag in a bronze medal match instead, where she was defeated and placed outside of the medals once again.[5] When the world rankings were released by the International Blind Sports Federation in January 2017, Kachan continued to be ranked first in the women's + 70 kg weight class.[6]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Arina Kachan Judoka". Judo Inside. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
  2. ^ "Double judo gold for Russia at Seoul 2015 IBSA World Games". IBSA Sport. 15 May 2015. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
  3. ^ "Judo European Championships update". IBSA Sport. 29 November 2015. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
  4. ^ "Sport week: Six judo storylines for Rio 2016". Paralympic.org. 3 June 2016. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
  5. ^ Place, Michael (11 September 2016). "Paralympics roundup: Yuan completes judo hat-trick in Rio". Xinhua News. Archived from the original on September 12, 2016. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
  6. ^ "IBSA releases judo world rankings". Paralympic.org. 26 January 2017. Retrieved 12 November 2017.