Qatar World Masters in Doha continues with top 36 athletes

Further to the International Judo Federation’s recent communication regarding the suspension of the World Judo Tour for the year 2020, the IJF announced the first IJF competition of 2021.

In January the IJF will organize the 2021 Qatar Masters in Doha. In the period January 11-13 the top 36 athletes in the World Ranking List for each weight category will be invited to participate in the competition. The final World Ranking for the nomination of athletes will be published immediately after the African Continental Championships at 20 December. Should the global health situation deteriorate in unexpected ways by the time of the competition, the IJF reserves the right to postpone the event accordingly.

President Marius Vizer: “I hope all judokas concerned will benefit from appropriate conditions for preparation of this important competition and I look forward to seeing some high-level judo in January, in Doha. I wish all of you lots of health and resilience during this difficult time!”

Qatar isn't very spoiled with top judo. The country though is a sports hub for world level events and the IJF previously awarded the 2023 World Championships to the capital Doha. Also multi sports events such as the Asian Games were held in Qatar which included a judo tournament. The Masters in Qatar would eventually be held in May this year but due to the coronacrisis the event was postponed. The Masters in Doha will be the tenth edition of the top event. The first edition started in 2010 in Suwon (KOR), The previous masters were held in QIngdao as last event of last year.