The three-day event is scheduled to take place at the Minsk Sports Palace, which is one of the venues set to be used for the 2019 European Games in the city.

The opening day of action will see medals awarded in nine categories, comprising the men’s 52 kilograms, 68kg and 90kg, the women’s 48kg, 60kg and 72kg, and combat sambo’s 57kg, 74kg and 100kg.

Taking centre stage on Saturday (May 20) will be the men’s 57kg, 74kg and 100kg, the women’s 52kg, 64kg and 80kg, and combat sambo’s 62kg, 82kg and over 100kg.

Rounding out proceedings on Sunday (May 21) will be the men’s 62kg, 82kg and over 100kg, the women’s 56kg, 68kg and over 80kg and combat sambo’s 52kg, 68kg and 90kg.

Last year’s European Sambo Championships were held in Kazan, where hosts Russia claimed 16 of the 27 gold medals on offer. 

Georgia were the runners-up with four titles, while Belarus came third with three.

Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria and Romania all claimed one apiece and will again be looking to challenge Russian dominance this time round.

Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) President Alexander Zhukov said earlier this year that sambo is on the right track for one day featuring on the programme of the Olympic Games, but admitted the process will not be a quick one.

Sambo was one of 14 sports to miss out on provisional recognition from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in December as the International Cheer Union and International Federation of Muaythai Amateur were both accepted.

It marked the latest snub for the International Sambo Federation (FIAS) which had been hopeful of being put forward for full recognition at the IOC Session in Rio de Janeiro in August, only to be overlooked along with several other Federations.

FIAS President Vasily Shestakov told insidethegames in December that IOC recognition is the only step the FIAS desires for the time being.

Two months earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin, an Honorary President of FIAS, called for "every effort" to be made to have sambo recognised by the IOC while addressing a session of the Council for the Development of Physical Culture and Sport.

Russia is very much the dominant force in sambo, which originated in the Soviet Union in the 1920s when soldiers of the then-Soviet Army developed their own hand-to-hand combat technique.

Sport sambo is similar to judo, but with some variations in rules, protocol and uniform.  

Combat sambo, meanwhile, resembles modern mixed martial arts, including extensive forms of striking and grappling, and is for men only.