A stellar field that also includes nine defending champions will battle it out for world titles at the event at the Hamdan Sports Complex, which begins tomorrow and concludes on Sunday (November 21).

Spectators are permitted to attend but the capacity of the venue has been restricted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

It will be the first Karate World Championships since Madrid hosted the event in 2018.

Dubai had been scheduled to stage the World Championships in 2020 before the World Karate Federation postponed the competition as a result of the global health crisis.

Sajad Ganjzadeh of Iran, who won the last gold medal in karate at Tokyo 2020 in controversial fashion after Saudi Arabian opponent Tareg Hamedi was disqualified, is the only Olympic champion not participating in Dubai.

Athletes will return to their usual weight categories at the World Championships as karate only had three kumite divisions for women and men at Tokyo 2020.

Among those seeking to defend their crown will be Eleni Chatziliadou, who became the first Greek world champion in karate when she took women's over-68 kilograms in Madrid three years ago.

"To be a world karate champion was a lifetime goal," she said. 

"When I was a little girl, I promised my father, who is also my coach, that one day I would be the best in the world. 

"So, when the time came, my father watched me live making this promise a reality."

Kumite eliminations are set to be held tomorrow and Wednesday (November 17), before kata preliminaries take centre stage on Thursday (November 18).

The repechage in each of the kumite divisions will take place on Thursday, when team kumite also gets underway.

Friday (November 19) is the last day of the elimination round, with individual medal matches set for Saturday (November 20) and team finals for Sunday.

The Para karate tournament will also be held on Sunday.