Idman.biz
Our judokas are already continuing their training program and preparing for competitions as soon as the new year begins.
Tomorrow, the European Judo Union (EJU) training camp will start in Mittersill, Austria.
The Azerbaijani national team will traditionally form its season preparation base here. In total, more than 900 athletes from 50 countries are expected to participate in the camp.
Idman.Biz reports that the main event of the year will be the World Championship to be held in Baku on October 4–11. The season will also be marked by the start of the Olympic qualification stage. From this point of view, it is the most appropriate time to talk about what competitions await Azerbaijani judokas. Moreover, the competition calendar has already been approved.
According to tradition, the Judo World Tour will open with the "Grand Slam" tournament in Paris on February 7-8. The series will consist of a total of ten stages and will be held in Tashkent, Tbilisi, Dushanbe, Astana, Lausanne, Ulaanbaatar, Budapest, Abu Dhabi and Tokyo. It is not surprising that Baku is not among the organizers of the "Grand Slam" tournaments this year. Because all attention will be focused on holding the world championship at a high level.
In addition, four tournaments included in the Grand Prix series will also take place. Judokas will have the opportunity to test their strength in the international arena and advance in the world ranking at competitions in Linz, Lima, Qingdao and Zagreb.
At the same time, before the main competition of the year, the "Grand Slam" tournament will be held in Ulaanbaatar on June 19–21. The International Judo Federation (IJF) does not highlight this competition by chance, as it will be the first qualifying tournament for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. From that moment on, each competition of the World Tour will be of greater importance, and the tension will reach its peak at the World Championship in Baku. World titles and extremely important ranking points will be fought for here.
The calendar also includes world championships for all age groups. The World Youth Championship will be held in Guayaquil, Ecuador on August 20–23. The main competition of the year for young people will be held in Amman, Jordan on October 22–25. In November, young athletes will participate in the Youth Olympic Games to be held in Dakar, Senegal.
In addition to the World Tour stages and world championships, 2026 will also be rich in numerous Open series tournaments held under the auspices of continental federations. These competitions give athletes important ranking points and play an important role in the road to Olympic qualification. The season also includes world championships for veterans and kata. These competitions attract more and more participants and amateurs every year, once again proving that the spirit of judo knows no age limit.
