(ATR)The biggest judo event between now and Rio 2016 opened on Monday.
The 2015 Judo World Championships, theflagship event of theWorld Judo Tour, is underway in the Kazakh capital of Astana.
Prior to the start of the world championships, International Judo Federation leaders held a congress in the Kazakh capital and hosted an IJF Hall of Fame Gala on Saturday.
Jean-Luc Rouge, IJF general secretary, and Naser Al-Tamimi were both re-elected at the IJF Congress. The IJF also welcomed four new members: Uemura Haruki, Rene Jaggi, Zhou Jinqiang and Yamashita Yasuhiro.
Leaders from delegations participating in the Judo World Championships gathered at the Alau Ice Palaceon Sunday for the official draw. IJF president Marius Vizer gave the opening address at the event.
"It is an honor for us to organize this world championships in Astana, Kazakhstan," Vizer said.
"I am confident that we will all be part of a successful World Championships.
"I wish the athletes good luck and a lot of success."
Five elite judoka also addressed the delegation leaders during the official draw this past weekend.
Clarisse Agbegnenou, Azamat Mukanov, Riki Nakaya, Paula Pareto and Mikhail Pulyaev set the tone for competition at the Judo World Championships.
Agbegnenou, defending world champion in the 63-kg weight division, said that this competition would mean a lot for her road to the Rio Olympics.
"I have been in the last two world finals, and I hope to achieve that one more time.
"I want to keep my red back number as the world champion in the build-up to the Olympic Games."
Organizers say that the world championships have gathered 729 judoka - 432 men and 297 women - from 120 countries for competition. The seven-day event will be broadcast in 160 countries.
In 2014, the Russian city of Chelyabinsk hosted the event. Rio de Janeiro hosted the 2013 edition of the World Judo Championships.
The IJF is staging competition for this year's championships at theSaryarka Velodrome. Competition ends on Aug. 30.
Written byNicole Bennett
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