Tajikistan’s capital will host the World Sambo Cup for the second consecutive year, with the tournament scheduled for September 19–20, 2026.

Following its debut in Dushanbe in September 2025, the competition will return to the city as part of the International Sambo Federation’s international calendar.

Leading athletes from around the world are expected to compete in 28 standard weight categories in sport sambo and combat sambo for men and women. The tournament will also include five additional divisions for visually impaired athletes.

The draw and seeding will be based on the competitors’ international rankings.

Weight categories

The competition program includes the following divisions:

• Sport sambo, men: 58, 64, 71, 79, 88, 98 and over 98 kilograms;
• Sport sambo, women: 50, 54, 59, 65, 72, 80 and over 80 kilograms;
• Combat sambo, men: 58, 64, 71, 79, 88, 98 and over 98 kilograms;
• Combat sambo, women: 50, 54, 59, 65, 72, 80 and over 80 kilograms.

Combat sambo competitions will be held without a repechage system.

Blind sambo will be contested in the SVI1 sport class. Men will compete in the 64, 79 and 98-kilogram categories, while women will compete at 50 and 59 kilograms.

Blind sambo added to program

The Dushanbe tournament will be the second FIAS World Cup event to include blind sambo.

The discipline made its World Cup debut in April 2026 in Yerevan, where visually impaired athletes competed for medals under the new format.

Its inclusion in the Dushanbe program marks another step in the international development of blind sambo.

Who can participate?

All national sambo federations affiliated with FIAS have been invited to participate.

Each country may register up to two athletes in each weight category. Competitors may enter only one discipline and one weight category.

Athletes born in 2008 or earlier are eligible to take part.

The tournament will be held at Dushanbe’s Tennis and Water Sports Complex.

Delegations are expected to arrive on September 17–18. Accreditation, training sessions, a meeting of team representatives and the official draw will take place during those two days.

Dushanbe hosted the World Sambo Cup for the first time on September 20–21, 2025, at the Tajik National University sports complex. The tournament brought together top athletes from several countries, including Tajikistan, Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan to compete across 28 weight categories in Sport and Combat Sambo.