World SAMBO Cup 2026 Wraps Up in Dushanbe

The World SAMBO Cup 2026 took place on 19-20 September in the capital of Tajikistan. For two days, Dushanbe hosted three disciplines – Sport SAMBO, Combat SAMBO and Blind SAMBO – with competitions held for both men and women. Medals were awarded across 33 weight categories, and Team Russia topped the overall medal standings.

The World Cup in Dushanbe brought together 234 athletes from 14 countries: Australia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Honduras, Georgia, Israel, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

Team Russia led the overall standings with 45 medals: 17 gold, 14 silver and 14 bronze. Uzbekistan finished second with 23 medals (4-6-13), while Belarus rounded out the top three with 12 medals (4-1-7).

Within individual disciplines, however, several teams managed to outperform the overall leader. Uzbekistan topped the table in men's Combat SAMBO, Belarus came out on top in women's Sport SAMBO, and Kazakhstan's athletes claimed first place in the women's Blind SAMBO team standings.

Results of the World SAMBO Cup 2026 in Dushanbe

“The tournament in Dushanbe turned out to be strong and highly competitive. Medals went to athletes from 12 countries, and that's the clearest proof that the level of SAMBO around the world is evening out, with other schools closing the gap on the leaders,” said President of the International SAMBO Federation Vasily Shestakov.

It's worth noting that women's Blind SAMBO featured in the World Cup program for the second time. The discipline made its debut in April at the World Cup in Yerevan, and now it was Dushanbe's turn to host it – while in November, blind female athletes will compete for medals at the year's biggest event, the World Championships in Tashkent.

“This is an important step forward for us. In 2025, FIAS received recognition from the International Paralympic Committee, and we expect this to bring Blind SAMBO closer to inclusion in the Paralympic Games program,” said Head of FIAS Vasily Shestakov.