JUDO Preview: Five recent world champions headline Hohhot Grand Prix in China

The third Hohhot Grand Prix will feature 301 judoka from 43 nations in competition at the 6,000-seat Inner Mongolia Stadium at 28 Genghis Khan Street this weekend, with five recent world champs among the top seeds:

Men:

-60 kg:
1. Albert Ozugov (RUS: 11)
2. Yung Wei Yang (TPE: 25)
3. Moritz Plafky (GER: 29)

-66 kg:
1. Kherlen Ganbold (MGL: 13)
2. Baskhuu Yondonperenlei (MGL: 17)
3. Aram Grigoryan (RUS: 24)

-73 kg:
1. Tommy Macias (SWE: 3)
2. Odbayar Ganbaatar (MGL: 7) ~ 2017 World Championships bronze medalist
3. Arthur Margelidon (CAN: 8)

-81 kg:
1. Saeid Mollaei (IRI: 3) ~ 2018 World Champion; 2017 Worlds bronze
2. Dominic Ressel (GER: 5)
3. Sotaro Fujiwara (JPN): 11) ~ 2018 World Championships silver medalist

-90 kg:
1. Ivan Felipe Silva Morales (CUB: 3) ~ 2018 World Championships silver medalist
2. Nemanja Majdov (SRB: 6) ~ 2017 World Champion
3. Eduard Trippel (GER; 11)

-100 kg:
1. Guham Cho (KOR: 2) ~ 2018 World Champion
2. Otgonbaatar Lkhagvasuren (MGL: 5) ~ 2018 World Championships bronze medalist
3. Benjamin Fletcher (IRL: 9)

+100 kg:
1. Lukas Krpalek (CZE: 2)
2. Duurenbayar Ulziibayar (MGL: 6) ~ 2018 World Championships bronze medalist
3. Sungmin Kim (KOR: 7)

Women:

-48 kg:
1. Yujeong Kang (KOR: 12)
2. Eva Csernoviczki (HUN: 15)
3. Shira Rishony (ISR: 16)

-52 kg:
1. Uta Abe (JPN): 4) ~ 2018 World Champion
2. Gili Cohen (ISR: 6)
3. Evelyne Tschopp (SUI: 8)

-57 kg:
1. Sumiya Dorjsuren (MGL: 4) ~ 2017 World Champion; 2018 Worlds bronze
2. Theresa Stoll (GER: 8)
3. Timna Nelson Levy (ISR: 10)

-63 kg:
1. Martyna Trajdos (GER: 7)
2. Catherine Beauchemin-Pinard (CAN: 8)
3. Maylin del Toro Carvajal (CUB: 11)

-70 kg:
1. Anna Bernholm (SWE: 5)
2. Saki Niizoe (JPN: 8)
3. Assmaa Niang (MAR: 10)

-78 kg:
1. Anna Mara Wagner (GER: 8)
2. Kaliema Antomarchi (CUB: 10) ~ 2017 World Championships bronze medalist
3. Luise Malzahn (GER: 11)

+78 kg:
1. Idalys Ortiz (CUB: 1) ~ 2018 World Championships silver medalist
2. Yan Wang (CHN: 19)
3. Kseniia Chibisova (RUS: 21)

Even with five Worlds gold medalists in the fields, there is only one no. 1-ranked fighter in the event: Cuba’s Ortiz in the women’s heavyweight division. After Hohhot, there are three IJF World Tour Grand Prix meets scheduled before the break for the World Championships, which will take place in Tokyo from 25-31 August.

In Hohhot, prize money of $3,000-2,000-1,000 is available to the top three finishers. Look for results here.