The fourth edition of the annual leg of the IJF World Judo Tour is the first event in Asia this year and takes place at the Buyant Ukhaa Sport Complex with little over a month until the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro are due to begin. 

Hosts Mongolia have selected a 56-strong team with four judoka in each of the 14 weight categories.

This includes a handful of the country’s Rio 2016 team, such as former world champion Urantsetseg Munkhbat, and a number of youngsters as the Mongolian Judo Association (MJA) prepares to switch its focus to Tokyo 2020 in the coming months.

Munkhbat will be competing in the women’s under 48 kilograms as she continues to prepare for her bid to become Mongolia’s first female Olympic champion in any sport.

The 26-year-old has won gold at every level of the IJF World Judo Tour, including her home event in 2013 and 2015.

Almaty Grand Prix winner Otgontsetseg Galbadrakh of Kazakhstan, who will be seeded for Rio 2016, has had the measure of her former team-mate Munkhbat this year and will also be hoping for success in Ulaanbaatar.

Another possible challenger is All-Japan Championships bronze medallist Yurie Morizaki, who will be making her third appearance on the IJF World Judo Tour and aiming to earn her first honours on the global stage.

"I would like to encourage all judoka around the world to put their strength and best performance in a last test for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and for sure, they will succeed and realise their Olympic dreams," said MJA President Battulga Khaltmaa. 

"Lastly, I wish you all to have a pleasant and memorable time while staying in the home land of great Genghis Khan.

"And I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to all judo family members for their precious time and effort to support this tournament."

Other star names set to compete in Ulaanbaatar include Cuban trio Idalys Ortiz, Asley Gonzalez and Jose Armenteros.

Ortiz is favoured to defend her Olympic crown at Rio 2016 and will be eyeing a convincing victory in the women’s over 78kg category.

The 26-year-old has won the Almaty Grand Prix and World Judo Masters back-to-back to give herself the best chance possible of retaining her title as the top seed for the Games.

Judoka such as Suzuka Ichihashi, Japan’s former Ulaanbaatar Grand Prix bronze medallist, and Ekaterina Sheremetova, Russia’s former Lisbon European Open bronze medallist, will be looking to make life difficult for Ortiz.

London 2012 Olympic silver medallist and former world champion Gonzalez will be vying to prevent home favourite Otgonbaatar Lkhagvasuren from winning gold in the men’s under 90kg category, while former world silver medallist Armenteros will fancy his chances of taking the men’s under 100kg title.

Tomorrow’s action is due to see the women’s under 48kg, under 52kg and under 57kg categories take centre stage along with the men’s under 60kg and under 66kg classes.

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