Guangzhou Masters to bring 2018 IJF World Judo Tour season to exciting close

Running across two days of 15 and 16 December, the city of Guangzhou in southern China will welcome around 230 judoka from 53 nations spread five continents for a weekend that promises high drama and great competition.

Of those competitors, the top 16-world ranked judoka in each weight category will be invited to compete at the Masters which will be hosted by the China Judo Association for the first time.

The event will feature seven weight categories for male competitors (at -60, -66, -73, -81, -90, -100, + 100 kg) and a further seven weight categories for female entrants (at -48, -52, -57, -63, -70, -78, + 78 kg). It provides many judo stars with the opportunity to showcase their talents plus offers competitors the chance to battle for valuable IJF ranking points.

This year’s edition takes on added significance this year with it being one of the most important qualification events for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan. It means the stars of the circuit including Olympic and world champions will be pulling out all the stops and will be in action.

The World Judo Masters is one of the greatest international events in the world of judo. It is quite fitting that Guangzhou, an ancient city of civilization and known as “the pearl of the South China Sea, will take centre stage for what it is one of the IJF’s premier showcases of judo.
Whilst the main focus will be on the weekend’s competition, Guangzhou itself will also be under the spotlight, particularly as The China Judo Association has also been awarded the following three editions of the IJF World Judo Masters competition in 2019, 2021 and 2022 in which Guangzhou will host.

In previous years, the IJF World Judo Masters has been held in Suwon, South Korea (2010), Baku, Azerbaijan (2011), Almaty, Kazakhstan (2012), Tyumen, Russia (2013), Rabat, Morocco (2015), Guadalajara, Mexico (2016) and St Petersburg, Russia (2017).