More than 500 young athletes from 17 countries competed for medals during the two days of action at the Palace of Sports of Rishon LeZion.

A total of 36 medal sets were up for grabs with Belarus topping the team standings.

Israel ranked second, while Russia finished third.

According to its organisers, the tournament turned out to be one of Israel's biggest sporting events for children and juniors in the last 20 to 25 years.

"Excellent organisation of the tournament, the high skill level of the participants, as well as well-grounded refereeing standards, propel our annual tournament for youth and juniors to considerable heights," Peter Ben Rozen, President of the Sambo Federation of Israel, said.

"It is all possible due to consolidated actions of the country’s sporting clubs, coordination efforts of the national sambo federation, and certainly, to the invaluable aid of volunteers.

"Together, we work for the sake of development and promotion of our best-loved sport in the country."

The tournament was attended by sambists from Austria, Belarus, Canada, Cyprus, Estonia, Georgia, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Latvia, The Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Slovakia, Ukraine, and hosts Israel.

Foreign delegations comprised 118 athletes, while Israel’s team was made up of 380 sambists representing all the country’s sporting clubs, from Karmiel in the north to Eilat in the south.

The Opening Ceremony was attended by diplomats from a large number of countries, including Austria, Belarus, Cyprus, Georgia, Ireland, Latvia and Slovakia.

Among the honourable guests who took part in the awards ceremony was Israeli-British athlete Alice Schlesinger, a two-time sambo world champion and a silver medalist at the World Judo Championships. 

She was joined by the likes of Konstantin Razvozov, a multiple European champion and now a member of the Knesset - the Israel's National Legislature.

Competition could be watched via the live online broadcast on the tournament’s website.