Judo: Olympic qualification for Los Angeles 2028 begins — what awaits the Armenian team in the 2026 season

The 2026 judo season will be a crucial stage on the road to the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. The official qualification period will begin in June, while the International Judo Federation (IJF) calendar promises intense and competitive action almost every month.

The Olympic qualification countdown will start with the Grand Slam in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, which will officially open the race for ranking points (June 19–21). Before that, judokas will take part in a series of prestigious tournaments designed to test the readiness of the world’s top athletes. The legendary Paris Grand Slam will traditionally take place in early February, followed by events in Tashkent, Austria, Tbilisi, Dushanbe and Astana.

In the second half of the year, the calendar will be enriched with new and symbolic events. In August, Lausanne — the Olympic capital — will host a tournament for the first time in history. However, the main event of the season will be the 2026 World Championships in Baku (October 4–11), where medals will be contested in individual weight categories and the mixed team event. After the World Championships, the schedule includes the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam, the Zagreb Grand Prix, and the season will conclude with the December Grand Slam in Tokyo.

Special attention in 2026 will also be given to young athletes. The Youth Olympic Games in Dakar will be historic, becoming the first Olympic tournament ever held on the African continent. At the same time, the Junior World Championships will take place in Amman, while the Veterans and Kata World Championships will be held in Sarajevo. The Kata World Series will start at the end of January in Gijón, Spain.

As stated on the official IJF website, “In 2026, the judo world will live with competitions almost every week, with maximum dedication from both young and experienced athletes.”

Current ranking positions of Armenian judokas

Olympic qualification directly depends on the world ranking, which is formed based on results from ranking tournaments and World Championships. At present, the following Armenian judokas are listed in the senior world ranking:

60 kg
Ashik Andreyan — 80th
Arshak Bekhchyan — 238th
Vahagn Hovsepyan — 457th
Vahe Aghasyan — 470th

66 kg
No representatives

73 kg
Artak Torosyan — 171st
Andreas Harutyunyan — 567th

81 kg
Grigory Pasevin — 123rd
Mesrop Badalyan — 501st

90 kg
Gor Karapetyan — 202nd

100 kg and +100 kg
No representatives

Special mention should be made of 20-year-old Vahe Aghasyan (60 kg), who became the U23 European Champion in 2025. This achievement is not yet reflected in the senior ranking, but Aghasyan plans to compete more actively at senior tournaments to improve his position. A similar situation applies to Gor Karapetyan, who already tested himself in youth competitions in the under-100 kg category in 2025.

Armenia’s participation in the 2026 World Championships

At the same time, Armenia’s participation in the 2026 World Judo Championships in Baku remains uncertain. For political reasons, Armenia may skip the tournament. However, the final decision will depend on whether Armenian judokas manage to qualify for the World Championships through sporting criteria. Only then will it become clear whether the national team will take part in the main event of the season.

The 2026 season promises to be decisive for Armenian judo and will answer the key question: which athletes can realistically enter the fight for Olympic qualification for Los Angeles 2028.

Olympic history of Armenian judo

Throughout the history of independent Armenia, five judokas have represented the country at the Olympic Games:

Arsen Gevorgyan — 1996 Olympics
Vardan Voskanyan — 2000 Olympics
Armen Nazaryan — 2004, 2008 and 2012 Olympics
Hovhannes Davtyan — 2008, 2012 and 2016 Olympics
Ferdinand Karapetyan — 2020 Olympics (held in 2021)

Thus, from 1996 to 2021, Armenian judokas took part in every Olympic Games, but the national team missed Paris 2024, as no athlete managed to qualify.

The best Olympic result in the history of Armenian judo was achieved by Hovhannes Davtyan, who reached the semifinals in 2012. Today, he serves as the head coach of the Armenian national team.