Present at the draw for the IJF were IJF Secretary General Dr Lisa Allan, IJF Head Sport Director Mr Vladimir Barta and IJF Head Referee Director Mr Florin Daniel Lascau. For Hungary, Hungarian Judo Association and EJU President Dr Laszlo Toth, and Hungarian Judo Association Vice Presidents Dr Zsolt Lang and Dr Antal Kovacs. Dr Kovacs is also Hungary’s sole judo Olympic champion.
Opening the draw, Dr Allan took the floor, “We are deeply honoured to welcome esteemed representatives from the Hungarian Judo Association:, President Dr Laszlo Toth, Vice Presidents Dr Zsolt Láng and Dr Antal Kovács. On behalf of the newly re-elected President of the International Judo Federation, Mr Marius Vizer, and the entire IJF family, we extend our warmest welcome to you all.
As we proudly organise this prestigious event, held for the third time in Hungary, we express our sincere gratitude to President Toth and the Hungarian Judo Association for their steadfast dedication and excellence in delivering events of the highest standard.
This championship brings together the global judo family to celebrate the spirit of our sport as the world's finest judoka compete in the Papp Laszlo Arena in the beautiful city of Budapest."
"A heartfelt thank you to our member national federations and valued sponsors for their unwavering support. Together, let us enjoy the OTP Bank World Judo Championships Hungary 2025, a showcase of elite athleticism, a sharing of the values that define judo, and the pursuit of excellence on the world stage.”
Then Dr Laszlo Toth delivered a welcome address, “Ladies and gentlemen, dear judo family, on behalf of the Hungarian Judo Association, it is a great pleasure to welcome you to the OTP Bank World Judo Championships 2025. After 4 years, the world championships have come back to Hungary and we are in a special situation as it is our third time to do so in a short period. It is a great honour for us that 93 countries, 20 Olympic champions and 28 world champions have come here to compete and after a successful congress, we will organise an unforgettable championship. I hope this will be successful for all of Hungary and for all visiting delegations. Thank you very much.”
Florin Daniel Lascau then noted that the refereeing team comprises the best in the world, “Dear President Toth and all judoka worldwide, I would like to inform you that we have made a nomination of 16 of the best referees in the world, to guarantee quality and transparency of refereeing at this championship.”
Mr Vladimir Barta was next to speak, to run the mechanics of the draw with great support from the IJF IT team. He noted that the entry was almost equal for men and women with a total of 556 athletes from 93 countries. The draw for each category was preceded by a high-octane video montage, the category breakdown, showing the 4 highest ranked athletes registered.
Following the draw for the individual categories, the mixed team event was also drawn including the draw for the starting weight category in round one: -70 kg. The draw concluded, leaving just a few hours for the local organisers and IJF team to finalise the set-up. The Papp Laszlo Arena was almost ready to welcome thousands of judo fans to the biggest judo spectacle of the year.
Daily start times:
Day 1: 11:30
Day 2: 11:00
Day 3: 11:30
Day 4: 11:00
Day 5: 11:00
Day 6: 11:30
Day 7: 12:00
Day 8: 10:00 (mixed teams)
Follow all the action, statistics and results live on JudoTV.