How to qualify in Sumo
How wrestlers qualify for the Sumo World Championships
Checked 20 October 2026Valid for: the Sumo World Championships 2025 (Pathum Thani, Thailand, 13 and 14 September 2025), from the tournament information issued by the International Sumo Federation (IFS) and the Sumo Association of Thailand. The IFS Regulations on Competition are not saved. Not covered: the junior championships; the 2026 or later editions; the professional sumo of Japan, which is a separate world.
There is no qualifying event. Any IFS member federation (or a country the IFS approves) can enter wrestlers registered with it:
| Competition | Entries per country |
|---|---|
| Individual, men and women, five divisions | 1 per division |
| Team (men and women separately) | 3 wrestlers and 1 substitute; at least 2 to take part |
The five individual divisions:
| Division | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
| Lightweight | under 85 kg | under 65 kg |
| Middleweight | 85 to under 100 kg | 65 to under 73 kg |
| Light heavyweight | 100 to under 115 kg | 73 to under 80 kg |
| Heavyweight | 115 kg and over | 80 kg and over |
| Open | any weight | any weight |
So India, as long as its sumo federation is an IFS member, can enter up to ten individual wrestlers (one per division, men and women) and a men's and a women's team.
- A wrestler may compete only under the nationality on their passport.
- Individual wrestlers may also wrestle in the team event.
- The team event has no age or weight limit; the three places are called senpo, chuken and taisho.
- The best 8 teams from the previous World Championships are seeded in the team event.
- Both events use double repechage, so losers to the finalists get a route to bronze.
- The 2023 tournament information gave the same one-per-division rule.