Dubai: The UAE’s judo team at the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games are aiming to cover themselves in glory thanks to a well-planned strategy they have pursued over the past four years.

Last week, three Moldovan-born judokas – Victor Scvortov (73kg), Sergiu Toma (80kg) and Ivan Remarenco (-100kg) – were among the 13 athletes named to represent the UAE at the Rio Games from August 5-21.

And all three have been undergoing intense preparations for Rio since the conclusion of the 2012 London Olympics, where they all competed under the Moldovan flag.

However, the following year they were granted permission to switch countries. Their first success for their adopted nation was a couple of bronze medals won by Remarenco (-100kg) and Scvortov (73kg) at the 2014 World Judo Championships held in Chelyabinsk, Russia. Since then, all three have been seen as medal prospects for the 2016 Rio Games.

From the beginning of this year, the training regimen has been expanded to include a series of external camps followed by the Judo Grand Slam in Baku, Ajerbaijan from May 6-8 and the World Master Judo in Guadalajara, Mexico.

“We saw the need to start preparing our judokas immediately after the London Olympics ended. Luckily for us, all three had adequate experience of competing at the highest level years before joining the UAE,” Nasser Al Tamimi, General Secretary, UAE Wrestling, Judo and Kick Boxing Federation (UAE WJKBF), told Gulf News.

Last month, the three judokas were sent off for another two training camps in Spain and Budapest, after which they attended psychological training in Germany to prepare the athletes for the rigours and demands of a competing in a high-profile event like an Olympic Games.

“Honestly, we have left nothing to chance really. We want all three of our judokas to excel and win. I doubt any one can turn and say that we have not done the right things in getting them prepared, whether physically or mentally, for the biggest moment of their careers,” Al Tamimi observed.

“I have been in constant touch with the three judokas and their training staff. I can confidently say that all of them are prepared for the challenges ahead in Rio. All three of them will be there to fight for medals,” he added.

The trio will have an added motivation in Rio after all three were barred from competing at the 2014 Incheon Asian Games on the grounds that they did not fulfil nationality qualifications. “All I can say at this moment is that all three are ready. And being kept away from the Incheon Games will give them an extra hunger to succeed,” Al Tamimi said.

“You need to remember that their goal was always the Olympic Games. They already have medals at the World Championships, and that was only meant to be a start. It was part of the process of growing up and maturing in the sport, and now with the Olympic Games they are just one step away,” he added.