With just under a month to go before the event, SportAccord has done its sums: the 2023 World Combat Games in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (October 20-30) are shaping up to be a record edition. The competition is expected to bring together 1,657 athletes from 80 nations. It will award 954 medals. Among the entries are a number of combat sport legends, including Iran’s Shahrbanoo Mansourian, five-time world wushu champion, China’s Cui Bihui, two-time world wushu champion, Ukraine’s Oleh Pryimachov and Turkey’s Bediha Tacyildiz, two of the world’s most successful muaythai specialists. Held ten years after the last edition, which took place in St Petersburg in 2013, the 2023 World Combat Games will include disabled disciplines for the first time, with 61 athletes taking part. Following the recommendations of the IOC Executive Board, SportAccord has validated the participation in Riyadh of neutral athletes carrying Russian and Belarusian passports.
