The preliminary entry list for the World Judo Championships, which begin in Baku on October 4, has raised some interesting questions.
As reported by İdman.Biz, several well-known judokas currently ranked well outside the world's top 100 appear on the list. This has prompted questions over whether they received special invitations, commonly known as wild cards. However, that is not necessarily the case.
Under International Judo Federation (IJF) qualification rules, being ranked inside the world's top 100 is one of the main criteria for participation in the World Championships. Nevertheless, several athletes on the preliminary list for Baku are currently outside that threshold.
For example, Germany's Olympic silver medallist Eduard Trippel is currently ranked 113th in the world, Slovakia's Patricia Tomankova is 115th, while Australia's Joshua Katz occupies 121st place.
So how did these athletes become eligible to compete at the World Championships, and were they awarded wild cards?
IJF sports director Vladimir Barta explained the situation to İdman.Biz.
"Athletes who are currently outside the top 100 in the world ranking are not necessarily wild-card recipients. This is due to the specifics of the qualification system," Barta said.
Under Article 4.4 of the IJF Sport and Organisation Rules, eligibility for the World Championships is not determined solely by the latest published world ranking. Instead, the relevant ranking in effect when the qualification period closes is taken into account.
This means an athlete may have been inside the world's top 100 at the qualification cut-off date and secured a place at the World Championships before subsequently dropping outside the top 100 following later ranking updates. Such a fall does not automatically remove their eligibility.
There is also another route to qualification.
According to IJF rules, eligibility is not limited to athletes ranked inside the senior world top 100. Judokas who are among the top 16 in the world junior ranking may also be eligible to compete at the World Championships.
In addition, if several athletes are tied for the final qualifying position, all judokas sharing that position are eligible to participate.
Therefore, an athlete being well outside the current senior world top 100 does not in itself mean that they received a wild card.
For this reason, the current ranking positions of Trippel, Tomankova and Katz alone are insufficient to determine exactly how they qualified for the World Championships. The ranking in force during the relevant qualification period, the junior ranking and other provisions under Article 4.4 must also be considered.
A separate mechanism exists for wild cards. The IJF Executive Committee may allocate up to 20 wild cards. Applications must be submitted by national federations and received by the IJF at least four weeks before the first day of competition.
As a result, a judoka outside the current top 100 may qualify for the World Championships through several routes, including the ranking at the designated qualification cut-off date, the junior ranking, special provisions for the host nation or a wild card.
Therefore, a competitor's current position in the world ranking alone is not enough to conclude that they have been awarded a wild card.
Several major names, meanwhile, will not compete in Baku.
Russia have not included two reigning world champions in their squad: Timur Arbuzov in the 81 kg category and Matvey Kanikovskiy at 100 kg.
Brazil will be without Olympic silver medallist Willian Lima in the 66 kg category, as well as Shirlen Nascimento, a medallist at the 2025 World Championships in the 57 kg division.
France will compete without legendary judoka Teddy Riner, who will miss the tournament due to a shoulder injury.
Georgia, on the other hand, are set to arrive in Baku with a strong squad. Despite former men's national team head coach Lasha Gujejiani moving to the Uzbekistan team, Georgia's entry list includes two-time Olympic champion Lasha Bekauri.
The World Judo Championships will take place in Baku from October 4 to 11.
