British Judo set to host Judo Grand Prix ahead of Rio 2016

British Judo has formally announced plans to host a Judo Grand Prix in Walsall, Great Britain, from 4-5 June, as part of the athletes’ preparations for Rio 2016.

This event will be the final opportunity for judokas across the world to compete in an international competition before September’s Paralympic Games.

Two time Paralympic medallist Sam Ingram (-90kg) said: “This is a great opportunity and I am looking forward to it a lot. We had the European Championships in 2011 in Crawley and that was a fantastic event, hopefully this one will be as well.

“It is always good to have home support. People will be supporting you as a British athlete, which is nice. Hopefully the judo fans enjoy it because I know the athletes will.”

Ingram will be joined by fellow ParalympicsGB teammates Jono Drane (-81kg), Chris Skelley (-100kg) and Jack Hodgson (+100kg).

The competition is the first of its kind to be hosted in Great Britain, but there are hopes for the competition to become a key date on the visually impaired judo calendar and a Paralympic qualification event in the next cycle.

The competition will be followed by a three-day training camp, maximising the opportunity to practise with some of the world’s top visually impaired judokas. The camp will be held at British Judo’s Centre of Excellence, which opened its doors in 2013 after the London 2012 Paralympic Games.

The competition and training camp are supported by UK Sport.

There is limited availability of seats for spectators. Tickets are free but all spectators are asked to register in advance here.

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Sport fans from around the world can now buy their Paralympic tickets for Rio 2016 from authorised ticket resellers (ATRs)

The IPC’s Global ATR is Jet Set Sports, and Rio 2016 tickets and packages can be purchased on the CoSport website.

Residents of Brazil can buy 2016 Paralympics tickets directly from the Rio 2016 website.