SUCCESS! Hungary hosts international judo contest – PHOTOS

MTI/Kovács Tamás

Hungary is honoured to be hosting the first international judo tournament in eight months, Gergely Gulyás, the prime minister’s chief of staff, said at the opening ceremony of the Grand Slam Hungary tournament on Saturday.

In his speech, Gulyás thanked the International Judo Federation (IJF) for choosing Hungary to be the country where the world’s top judokas return to action.

MTI/Kovács Tamás

“After the 2017 world championships,

it is an honour to have the world of judo return to action with such a prestigious event,”

he said.

Gulyás said that in the past it would have been hard to imagine the world’s top athletes competing in empty arenas.

MTI/Kovács Tamás

IJF president Marius Vizer thanked the Hungarian government for supporting the event and said that even without fans being present at the tournament

“the spirit of judo is here with us.”

László Tóth, the head of Hungarian Judo Association, also expressed his thanks to the government and the IJF for giving Hungary the chance to host its first Grand Slam tournament.