The South Korean representative team for international competitions will be chosen from these 14 athletes.

All participants had to return a negative polymerase chain reaction test for COVID-19 to be allowed to take part.

This was also in place for the Korean Junior Sambo Championships, held concurrently.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, South Korea has recorded just over 354,000 infections and 2,788 deaths, seeking to control the virus through mitigation measures such as a rigorous testing and tracing system and strict quarantine requirements for international arrivals.

Andrei Kulik, Russia's Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to South Korea, was among the guests at the Opening Ceremony of the sambo event in Seoul.

The President of the Korean Sambo Federation, Moon Songchon, said the Championships represented an important milestone for the sport in South Korea.

"The event, held with the support of the Russian Embassy in Korea, was held as part of the celebration of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Russia and Korea, in the year of full recognition of FIAS (International Sambo Federation) by the International Olympic Committee," he said.

Kulik concurred with Moon, pointing out the importance of sambo in strengthening the relationship between Russia and South Korea.

Moon added the Korean Sambo Federation will continue to strive for the development of the sport in the country, such as hosting the Asian Cup next year, preparing for the 2025 World Youth and Junior Championships and training athletes to Olympic standard.

After receiving a provisional three-year recognition in 2018, sambo was granted full recognition at the International Olympic Committee Session held before Tokyo 2020.