The Abu Dhabi Grand Slam will begin eight days after the conclusion of the World Championships in Uzbekistan, with 414 judoka set to compete from 65 countries, and action taking place on three tatamis.

Welcoming competitors to the tournament today IJF Grand Slam director Vlad Marinescu said: "This amazing tournament would not be possible without the constant support of the Government and the Abu Dhabi Sport Council.

"This event comes just a few days after the tremendous World Championships and it is satisfying to see that more than 400 athletes have come.

"This underlines the importance of Abu Dhabi on the international calendar and we, the International Judo Federation, its President, Marius Vizer, and the entire World Judo Tour, congratulate ourselves for it."

Seven men’s and women’s categories are set to be contested, and some will be wide open with World Championship medallists absent, including in the women’s under-48 kilograms, women’s under-52kg and men’s under-73kg categories.

On the women’s side judoka to watch include Olympic champion Nora Gjakova of Kosovo, returning to the mat for the first time since her triumph in Tokyo in the under-57kg category, and starting as fourth seed.

Kim Polling of the Netherlands returns to the World Judo Tour for the first time since becoming a mum, and her performance in the under-70kg category, where she is seeded sixth, is sure to attract interest.

On the men’s side Yung Wei Yang of Chinese Taipei, the world number one, will be one to watch in the under-60kg category.

The top seed in Abu Dhabi, Yang will be looking to bounce back from a bronze medal at the World Championships in Tashkent earlier this month.

Competition in the 3,500 capacity Jiu-Jitsu Arena in Abu Dhabi is scheduled to begin tomorrow with preliminaries and later finals in the women’s under-48, 52 and 57kg categories, and the men’s under-60 and 66kg categories.