Polling, who was fifth at last year’s IJF World Championships in Chelyabinsk, Russia, will be competing in her first 2015 World Tour event of the season and she could come up against 2014 silver medallist Sally Conway of Great Britain.

Olympic champion Kayla Harrison of United States, who comes into the competition in commanding form after she claimed Tokyo Grand Slan gold, leads the women’s under 78kg field.

Harrison will be hoping to secure a fourth straight title to continue her monopoly of the weight category and her sternest opposition is likely to come from Samsun Grand Prix silver medallist Natalie Powell of Great Britain and Dutchwoman Marhinde Verkerk.

In the men’s competitions, Elmar Gasimov, currently ranked at number two in the world, is the leading name in the under 100kg category and he will be aiming to give the passionate home crowd something to cheer about as he goes after his third gold of the campaign so far.

Compatriot Elkhan Mammadov is another of the 35-strong Azeri team bidding for success in Baku and Gasimov will have to be wary of the challenge his team mate poses.

On the other end of the weight spectrum, Mongolian world champion Boldbaatar Ganbat is the stellar name in the under 60kg category, and he goes into the event still seeking his first title of the season.

The division could also yield success for the home nation with Azerbaijan’s world number three Orkhan Safarov a strong prospect for a medal alongside Georgian star Amiran Papinashvili.

The first Grand Slam of the year usually takes place in the French capital of Paris but the normal venue, the Palais Omnisport de Paris Bercy, is currently being renovated.

Around 356 judoka will compete from 48 nations at the Sarhadchi Olympic Sport Centre and the event runs for three days, concluding on Sunday (May 10).

Athletes will all be bidding to earn the $4,000 (£2,600/€3,550) prize money on offer for winning gold and Vladimir Barta, IJF head sports director, is looking forward to the competition getting underway.

“I would like to welcome everyone to Baku for the first Grand Slam of the year,” he said.

“This is the last event before a very important competition, the World Judo Masters event, in Rabat, Morocco later this month where only the world’s top 16 judoka in each category will be invited. 

“Baku is also preparing for the first European Games and it’s a city that is changing every single day.”

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