The World Youth and Junior Sambo Championships have been moved from Mongolia to Greece because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ulaanbaatar, the Mongolian capital, was due to host the event but is now unable to do so because of the “difficult epidemiological situation in the country”.

The Hellenic Sambo Federation applied to take over the hosting of the event and will now stage it in Thessaloniki from October 15 to 17.

All participants will be required to take a COVID-19 test within 72 hours of arriving at the Championships.

The competition will take place in a bubble environment in a bid to protect people from infection.

Officials from the International Sambo Federation will be able to call upon the experience of the 2020 World Championships in Serbia, which went ahead under similar conditions.