Combat SAMBO competitions will be held as part of the World Games
Medals will be awarded in five men’s weight categories (64 kg, 71 kg, 79 kg, 88 kg, 98 kg), five women’s weight categories (54 kg, 59 kg, 65 kg, 72 kg, 80 kg) and a mixed team competition. The selection of athletes to participate in the Games will be based on the results of sambists at international competitions in 2024:
Europe will have two representatives in each weight with the highest ranking among European sambists based on the 2024 results.
Asia and Oceania will also have two representatives in each weight with the highest ranking among sambists in Asia and Oceania based on the 2024 results.
Africa will have one representative in each weight with the highest ranking among African sambists based on the 2024 results. The same applies to Pan-America. China, as host, will have one representative in each weight category.
READ ALSO: Leverkusen to demand N70bn from Chelsea for Boniface
In addition, there will be one wild card in each weight category by drawing lots among candidates based on applications from national sambo federations that were not included in the number of participants for the Games based on the results of the rank selection.
Sambists will be able to earn qualification points at the 2024 World Championships in Kazakhstan, the 2024 World Cups in Armenia and Kyrgyzstan, as well as at continental championships throughout 2024.
SAMBO will be the only new sport in Chengdu compared to the 2022 Games in Birmingham, USA. The FIAS became a member of the IWGA in 2021. Previously, SAMBO was already part of the official programme of the World Games in London, Great Britain, in 1985 and in The Hague, Netherlands, in 1993. The 2025 World Games will be the 12th edition of the event, which includes sports and sporting disciplines not included in the Olympic Games. It is scheduled to take place from 7-17 August 2025 in Chengdu, China.
It will be the first edition to be held under the guidelines of the “Growth Beyond Excellence” strategy paper, the second edition to be held in Asia, and the first time the country will host the World Games.
