A total of 476 athletes from 91 countries are due to take part across the three days of competition as they battle for world ranking points and podium places.

Starting in February with the Düsseldorf Grand Prix, this year’s World Judo Tour solely featured events counting for qualification towards Rio 2016. 

The Tokyo Grand Slam is the sixth of the year and follows a World Championships, a World Judo Masters and nine Grand Prix.

"It is a great honour for us to organise such a big competition, which is just behind a World Championship or a World Judo Masters, in terms of importance," said Yamashita Yasuhiro, vice-president of the All-Japan Judo Federation (AJJF) and IJF Executive Committee member.

"The Tokyo Grand Slam this year will be a very important step towards the Olympic Games, which will be held next year in Rio and in 2020 in Tokyo.

"I am sure that 2016 will be a fantastic year for our sport."

Prior to today’s draw, IJF and AJJF officials observed a minute’s silence in tribute to Adel Abuwarda, head of the Egyptian delegation at the Jeju Grand Prix and Egyptian Judo Federation Board member, who passed away suddenly last week in South Korea.

France’s Loïc Pietri, the 2013 world champion, will compete in the men’s under 81 kilogram category against the likes of Georgia’s Avtandili Tchrikishvili, the 2014 world champion, and home favourite Takanori Nagase, the winner of last year’s Tokyo Grand Slam.

"This Tokyo tournament is actually well placed at the end of the year," said Pietri.

"Many favourites are coming back to competition here in Japan, like me, after a well-deserved break following the Astana World Championships.

"My category is very strong this year and all the current and former recent world champions will be present on the tatami this weekend.

"This is going to be complicated but it will be a great competition."

Yesterday, a delegation composed of IJF, AJJF and Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee representatives visited the Nippon Budokan Stadium, often shortened as the Budokan, which has been designated to host the judo event when the Olympics returns to the Japanese capital in five years. 

The Budokan was the venue for judo at the Tokyo 1964 Games and according to the delegation members, there is still some construction work and refurbishment to be done to meet today’s requirement of holding an international judo competition.

To watch the latest action on Judo TV click here. 


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