The German Judo Association (DJB) withdrew its entire team from Tbilisi after six men and one woman from the 31-person team became infected, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported.

The report adds that the number of positive cases resulting from a pre-competition international training camp in Georgia is estimated at between 40 and 50.

"With the withdrawal, we lose important points for the Olympic qualification, but the health of the athletes has absolute priority," said DJB board member Frank Doetsch.

A total of 504 judoka from 82 nations were registered in Tbilisi, with many taking part in a large training camp since March 10.

"We have been tested several times," Alexander Wieczerzak, Germany’s 2017 world champion in the men’s under-81 kilograms category and who had COVID-19 in January and is not currently showing positive, told FAZ.

"Except when fighting."

The athletes infected, who are symptom-free according to the DJB, are still in quarantine in Tbilisi.

Wieczerzak started the journey home on Wednesday (March 24) and was tested twice.

On the eve of the Grand Slam it was announced that the French team had withdrawn following a COVID-19 positive within its party.

Those competing in the Georgian capital produced a day of dramatic action which saw five golds go to five different nations, with the home team taking an early lead in the medals table after involvement in three of the finals.

Home fighter Eteri Liparteliani excelled in beating Canada’s Christa Deguchi to earn a place in the women’s under-57kg final but was then beaten to gold by Kosovo’s Nora Gjakova, who won with waza-ari.

Deguchi finished with a bronze, as did Russia’s Daria Mezhetskaia.

There was further disappointment for Georgia as it took Sardor Nurillaev of Uzbekistan just 20 seconds to throw home favourite and top seed Vazha Margvelashvili, the 2016 European champion, to take men’s under-66kg gold.

Bronze medals were earned by Mongolia’s Kherlen Ganbold and Mikhail Puliaev of Russia.

There was gold for the home nation on the opening day as Temur Nozadze won the men’s under-60kg title after his Uzbek opponent Kemran Nurillaev had stretched his arm with an illegal rolling movement and been disqualified.

Bronze medals went to Shahboz Saidaburorov of Tajikistan and Azerbaijan’s Karamat Huseynov, whose opponent Konstantin Simeonidis of Russia was unable to fight because of injury.

Rio 2016 silver medallist and 2020 European champion Odette Giuffrida of Italy claimed the third Grand Slam title of her career as she defeated Britain’s Chelsie Giles, winner at this year’s Tel Aviv Grand Slam, in a gripping tactical battle to claim the women’s under-52kg title.

Bronze medals went to Hungary’s Reka Pupp and Joana Ramos of Portugal.

Mongolia’s 31-year-old Urantsetseg Munkhbat, world champion in 2013, won her 39^th medal on the IJF circuit as she secured victory in the women’s under-48kg final against unseeded young Italian Francesca Milani.

Milani had earned a surprise win in the semi-final over Spain’s Julia Figueroa, who was vying with team mate Laura Martinez Abelenda for the one spot at the Tokyo 2020 Games.

Figueroa, a Rio 2016 Olympian, laid down a marker as she defeated her 22-year-old domestic rival to win bronze.

The other bronze went to Slovenia’s Marusa Stangar.