Their football team FC Astana is now readying themselves to welcome footballing giants Atletico Madrid, Benfica and Galatasaray to the 30,000 capacity Astana Arena after becoming the first team from the country to qualify for the UEFA Champions League group stages. Across the road from the stadium at the Alau Ice Palace, Kazakhstan were hosting a sport’s World Championships for the first time in their history.

With the International Judo Federation (IJF) placing their faith in Kazakhstan to host their final World Championships before the Rio 2016 Olympics, getting off to a good start was vital. In fact they had a dream start with an all-Kazakh final on the opening day of competition, with Yeldos Smetov’s victory providing the perfect antidote to any pre-event jitters and ensuring the event enjoyed a feel-good atmosphere among the crowd.

Although I write this at a time when the attendance is relatively sparse for the team competitions, generally the venue, transformed from an ice rink prior to competition, has seen large numbers of fans attend each session.

As you might expect as the home of judo, Japanese fans were out in force and their competitors have proved to be the most dominant, winning six individual titles, as well as four silver and five bronze medals.

While Japan have ended the Championships comfortably sitting top of the medals table, the fact that 23 countries have had at least one of their judokas step onto the rostrum illustrates the growing number of nations capable of producing world champions.

The development of sport into new countries and regions was one of the key areas explored at the IJF Congress which preceded the Championships, with the President Marius Vizer revealing their drive to embrace Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, as well broadcasting more live events on internet streams to ensure greater viewership and interest in the sport.

They are thinking outside the television box, as it were.

It may not have been designed for the purpose but while trying to live blog across three different mats, the stream proved to be a vital tool for being able to click from one tatami to another, to keep up to date with everything that was going on in the arena and indeed go back to watch major incidents again. With viewers at home being able to choose fights and have expert commentators such as former world champion Neil Adams for free, it would be no surprise to see people coming back to judo time and again.

By no means is that to say the IJF are neglecting the more mainstream mediums such as television. Far from it, with Vizer declaring his desire to continue to work with more broadcasters to produce high definition quality live pictures as well as highlights from major events. Upon returning from last week’s Congress the announcement of a new television deal with British station BT Sport had been revealed.

However good coverage on streams, television and social media is nothing without a quality product. If this week has been anything to go by the product is good and looks to be getting better. Looking through the start lists prior to competition I could nothelp but note the number of judokas who had reached podium finishes as World Judo Tour events throughout the year, including their Grand Prix and Grand Slams.

With each event contributing to the world rankings, it created a significant buzz of excitement ahead the pre-tournament draw. Having never attended a judo draw before I admit to being amazed by the level of interest, with the large ballroom at the extremely plush looking Rixos President Astana Hotel crowded with judokas, coaches, team officials and journalsts.

The draw on its own had seemingly become its own event, giving Astana the opportunity to display another lavish location, while athletes, coaches and legends of the sport then clamoured to look at the contenders possible routes to the final.

It’s fair to say the competition lived up the hype surrounding the draw with shocks taking place with regularity during the week and only the legendary Frenchman Teddy Riner managing to retain a title from the 2014 World Championships in Chelyabinsk. Also, with action throughout the morning sessions taking place on three mats, there was always something to be watching and even when bouts seemed drab affairs, you were never far from seeing a spectacular throw.

While the breaks between sessions did not last long, it did provide ample opportunity for younger fans to watch their favourite athletes prepare for competition as well as gain autographs. It seemed somewhat refreshing that young fans were allowed as much access as they were and it seems like a positive step to attracting even more of a fanbase as well as being able to give athletes exposure close up.

Another event that has become part of the World Championships is the IJF Hall of Fame dinner, which displayed that, while the sport’s governing body are clearly trying to look to drive the sport forward, that the sport’s history is still very much respected and traditions remain intact. For instance, the IJF’s use of was using social media and big screens in the arena to reflect upon the retirement for the three-time Olympic champion Tadahiro Nomura of Japan, showed a blend of their history but also a willingness to modernise.

Arguably the biggest cheer from the crowd was due to one of the sports traditions being followed. Despite sustaining a painful arm injury which ended his hopes at the Championships, New Zealand’s Jason Koster made the point of returning the field of play, cradling his arm, in order to perform the bowing ritual out of respect to his opponent.

While there has been a lot of positive work done to promote and market judo, there are clearly some areas that require more thought if the sport is to become truly global, as Vizer and the IJF hope. For instance, despite the spread of medals across various nations,  neither Africa nor Oceania had athletes who were able to reach the podium.

Additionally while there are individuals athletes who have stormed through to win golds for their countries,  such as Slovenia’s Tina Trstenjak, who has dominated the women’s under 63 kilogram division this year, these countries do not appear to have the strength in depth yet to rival traditional superpowers such as Japan.

For that reason, the IJF ambition to have men’s and women’s team competitions included as a new discipline on the Olympic programme seems somewhat unrealistic in my eyes. Although the ambition is clear to see, with the decision to appoint Japan’s Haruki Uemura and Yasuhiro Yamashita appointment to the IJF Executive Committee seen partly a move to try to gain support for the discipline to be added for Tokyo 2020.

With the two Olympic champions appointment it is yet another sign of judo looking back to their past, with the aim of driving the sport forward in the future.