BAKU, October 3. /TASS/. The Russian national judo team will compete at the World Championships in Baku under the national flag and with the national anthem for the first time in four years.

In November 2025, the International Judo Federation (IJF) became the first international Olympic federation to restore the use of the Russian flag and anthem for the country’s athletes. The decision took effect at the Grand Slam tournament in Abu Dhabi that month.

At last year’s World Championships in Budapest, Russian judokas competed under the IJF flag, winning three gold medals through Timur Arbuzov, Matvey Kanikovsky, and Inal Tasoev, as well as two bronze medals claimed by Ayub Bliev and Arman Adamyan. This year’s championships are being held during the opening year of the Olympic qualification cycle for the 2028 Los Angeles Games.

The tournament will take place from October 4 to 11 at the National Gymnastics Arena. The Russian team, supported by the Russian Sports Foundation, comprises 23 athletes--12 men and 11 women. Its leading contender is Inal Tasoev, a two-time world champion and the leader of the IJF rankings.

"The guys are ready. We’re waiting for the draw. We already have a preliminary analysis of our opponents: the coaches know who might face whom in the early rounds and where the potential pitfalls lie. Right now, we’re waiting to see where the strong athletes who didn't make the top seeds will land. Once the draw is out, we’ll conduct another comprehensive analysis," Kirill Denisov, Sports Director of the Russian Judo Federation (RJF), told TASS.

According to Denisov, although the championship’s status as a qualifying event is important, the team is not treating the Baku tournament as the decisive event of the Olympic cycle.

"It’s just another stage of preparation--albeit a tougher one than usual. We all want good results, but there are still two World Championships, a European Championship, and other major events ahead. The main thing is to reach peak form specifically for Los Angeles," Denisov said.