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World Judo Grand Prix to reappear in Qingdao

( chinadaily.com.cn )

Updated: 2014-11-14

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The coastal city of Qingdao, Shandong province, will play host to the 2014 Taishan Cup Qingdao World Judo Grand Prix on Nov 19-21, which will be co-organized by China’s General Administration of Sport, the Chinese Judo Association and the Shandong Administration of Sports, attracting over 200 judokas from 31 countries and regions around the world, according to the Chinese-language Qingdao Daily.

The judokas will compete in seven categories for men and women in three days, organizers said Tuesday. Every day, the preliminary competitions will kick off at 10 a.m. and the semifinals and finals will start at 5 p.m.

As an integral match for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games, this Grand Prix will attract the most talented judokas from all over the world, said Xu Dianping, an official of the Chinese Judo Association.

Including world champion, Yu Song, and the 2014 Incheon Asian Games gold winner, Ma Sisi, 56 Chinese judokas will try to get more credits for the coming Olympic Games in the Grand Prix, Xu said.

To popularized judo in China, the three-day competition will be free for all audience members, according to the city’s bureau of sports.

Authorized by the International Judo Federation, the first World Judo Grand Prix in Qingdao was held in 2009.