Kyrgyzstan has never held the World Sambo Championships before ©FIAS

Sambists from Kyrgyzstan have recorded a video inviting rivals to the country before this year's World Sambo Championships.

In the video, Kyrgyzstan's leading sambo athletes are seen training, plus there are panoramic views of Bishkek and the Kyrgyzstan countryside.

Kyrgyzstan's capital Bishkek is due to host the World Sambo Championships for the first time from November 11 to 13.

Ashgabat in Turkmenistan had originally been scheduled to stage the World Championships, but pulled out, leading to Bishkek stepping in.

Gold medallists will be rewarded to the tune of $4,000 (£3,500/€4,100) and the total prize pot is $231,000 (£204,000/€234,000).


Competition is scheduled in 21 men's, women's and men's combat sambo weight classes.

The Sports Complex Gazprom for Children is the venue for the World Championships, where athletes from Russia and Belarus will be allowed to compete under the International Sambo Federation (FIAS) flag.

The FIAS has stopped short of fully implementing an International Olympic Committee recommendation that athletes from the two nations be excluded from international sport outright over the war in Ukraine.

Russian state-owned oil company Rosneft is the general partner of the World Sambo Championships.