Nearly 700 athletes will compete at the Prince Faisal bin Fahd Olympic Complex in Riyadh, the capital city, from September 4 to 17, which makes this the biggest IWF World Championships in terms of entries.

Anybody hoping to be at the Olympic Games must participate in Riyadh, the first of two mandatory events in qualifying, and all but 27 of the 719 athletes have declared their intent to lift rather than just weigh in and present themselves for anti-doping tests.

Despite the fact that China has another major competition only a few weeks away - it hosts the Asian Games in Hangzhou, where weightlifting begins on September 30 - all six of its eligible Olympic champions are down to lift in the Saudi capital.

Results did not all go China’s way at last year’s IWF World Championships in Bogotá, Colombia, the first qualifiying event for Paris.

High altitude was arguably the main factor for the unprecedented number of no-lifts throughout the Championships last December, when there was the rare sight of China’s athletes finishing seventh and ninth in the men's 73 kilograms, fourth and fifth in the women's 59kg, and second and fourth in the women’s 71kg.

World record holders Shi Zhiyong and Tian Tao both sat out the competition after weighing in, waiting for better form and fitness.

Since then, Chinese women have claimed top spot in all five weight categories for Paris, setting world records along the way at the Asian Championships in South Korea in May.

Three women who might have been capable of displacing one or two them - Loredana Toma from Romania, Sara Samir from Egypt and the Norwegian world champion Solfrid Koanda - are not competing in the Olympic categories in Riyadh.

Toma, who broke the 71kg snatch world record in Colombia, is among the 27 who have opted to weigh in without lifting in Riyadh, while Samir and Koanda have moved out of the 81kg class to lift at 76kg and 87kg, respectively.

Yenny Álvarez from Colombia, whose victory at 59kg was one of the highlights of last year’s Championships, appears to be the biggest threat to China in any of the Olympic classes when she competes against Pei Xinyi and Luo Shifang.

Álvarez is one of several medal contenders in Colombia’s maximum team of 20. It includes the Olympic silver medallist Luis Javier Mosquera, who has not made a lift in qualifying to date because of a serious wrist injury and is due to compete in the 73kg B Group.

The United States and hosts Saudi Arabia are the only other two nations with a maximum team.

South Korea and Mexico send 19 athletes, China and Spain 18, while others with 14 or more entries are Canada, Armenia, Japan, Thailand, Hungary, Iran, Thailand, Chinese Taipei, and Turkmenistan.

Shi Zhiyong, who has not lifted since he won gold in Tokyo at 73kg more than two years ago, is in the C Group at 81kg in Riyadh, and is not the only Olympic champion listed in a C Group.

Kuo Hsing-Chun from Chinese Taipei, the 59kg winner in Tokyo, is another, and several more big-name athletes are in B and C Groups. 

The 55kg world champion and multiple junior world record holder Seeraphong Silachai from Thailand is in the 61kg D Group.

Italy, which outperformed the rest of Europe by winning three medals in Tokyo, has had a number of disappointments in qualifying to date, with too many missed attempts.

Antonino Pizzolato, who has not made a lift in qualifying, has recovered from a back injury and goes at 89kg, where China’s Li Dayin and Tian Tao will be the favourites.

"He hasn't had any more troubles," said Sebastiano Curbu, Italy’s technical director. 

"We will do everything to get a result that allows us to qualify. Of course we will also try to get a medal, but we will basically aim for qualification."

Corbu said, "The guys are all right. Now is the time to show what they can do because we are playing for the Olympic qualification."

He has high hopes of Giulia Imperio and Giulia Miserendino who are both "in excellent shape" at 49kg and 71kg respectively, Lucrezia Magistris at 59kg "in the B Group which could be an advantage", Sergio Massidda at 61kg, Oscar Reyes at 81kg, and Pizzolato.

Mirko Zanni is entered at 73kg but has had a knee problem and "we are still in doubt whether to make him compete or not," said Corbu.

A notable absentee from the 89kg category is the world-record breaking Bulgarian Karlos Nasar, who suffered a serious achilles injury and may not lift again until next year.

At 102kg, five men have posted entry totals of 400kg or more, including the Olympic champion Meso Hassona from Qatar and two Armenians, Samvel Gasparyan and the teenager Garik Karapetyan.

Nobody eligible for Paris has yet made 400kg in qualifying.

In the men’s super-heavyweights all eight athletes in the A Group, the final session of the Championships, have entry totals of 440kg or more.

The 20-year-old South Korean Park Hyejeong will be one to watch as she attempts the rare feat of making a 300kg total in the women’s super-heavyweights, having made 295kg last time out at the Asian Championships.

Egypt, with the strongest team from the Arab world, should get plenty of support. 

Its top hopes are Sara Samir at 76kg, Neama Said at 71kg and Karim Abokahla in the men’s 96kg.

All 20 current world champions are entered, as are the 13 Tokyo Olympic gold medallists who are still competing, and 17 world record holders.

There are 66 sessions in Riyadh, where the longest days will run from 7:00AM until about 23:30PM, from first weigh-in to last lift.