The World Judo Championships begin today in Budapest, Hungary.

This year’s championship features 556 judokas from 93 countries, including Olympic medalists and world and continental champions. Among them are 18 members of the Uzbekistan national team, including internationally recognized athletes Alisher Yusupov, Shakhram Ahadov, and Muzaffarbek Turaboyev.

Today, in the -60 kg weight category, Uzbekistan’s Bahrom Boturov will face the bout winner between Ariunbold Enkhtaivan (Mongolia) and Maximilian Heyder (Germany). In the -48 kg category, Halimajon Kurbonova will compete against the winner of the Wong Ka Li (Hong Kong)/Lois Petit (Belgium) match, while Laziza Haydarova will face Shirine Boukli of France.

The World Championships will run through June 19.

T. Ruziyev, UzA