The World Combat Games
The World Combat Games are a multi-sports international event mainly focusing on martial arts and combat sports. Fifteen sports are included in this event. Some are Olympic sports while others are non-Olympic sports. The main sports currently on the program are wushu, wrestling, taekwondo, sumo, savate, sambo, Muay Thai, kickboxing, kendo, karate, ju-jitsu, judo, fencing, boxing and aikido. The program has also included the sport of pankration.
The World Combat Games event was initiated by Sport Accord. This organization is an important umbrella organization for sports organizers and all the international sports federations. This event is now accompanied by a cultural program to bring closer attention of these sports to the public all over the globe. This cultural program reflects the ancient values and traditions of the martial arts and combat games included in this event.
The first-ever World Combat Games Event was held in Beijing, China in 2010. Over 1000 athletes from all the 5 continents of the world participated with full enthusiasm. 118 gold medals were awarded during the 8 days competition. Russia took lead with 18 gold medals, china stood second with 15 gold medals and Ukraine stood third with 7 gold medals.
The second World Combat Games event was held in Saint Petersburg, Russia in 2013. In this event, 2 new sports, fencing and savate, joined and competed. Russia again stood at the top of medal rankings table by securing 47 gold medals. Ukraine stood second by securing 34 and France stood third by securing 12 gold medals. This event was a 9 days event (18-26 October) excluding the inaugural ceremony at the first day.
The next World Combat Games
The third World Combat Games was planned to be held in 2017 in Lima, Peru, but in 2015 Lima withdrew as hosts, following the withdrawal of taekwondo, boxing and wrestling was announced, as well as the probable absence of fencing and weightlifting. The 3rd World Combat Games were then planned be held in Chinese Taipei in 2019, but again was postponed. They will now planned to be held every four years starting in 2023.
The 2023 World Combat Games were held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The venue for the 2027 World Combat Games has not been annouced
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