Matić who won world titles in 2021 and 2022 is set to face either Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games silver medallist Ebony Drysdale Daly of Jamaica or Denmark’s Laerke Olsen, a world junior silver medallist in 2018 in pool A of the women's under-70-kilograms competition.

Matić was on hand to see the draw conducted in person for the last IJF Grand Prix of the season alongside her compatriot Lara Cvjetko who opens her campaign in pool C at the same weight.

Cvjetko lost to Matić in the 2022 IJF World Championship final in Tashkent last October.

Elsewhere in the women’s competition Britain’s Lucy Renshall, a winner at six IJF Grand Slam events, opens her under-63kg campaign against Munkhtsedev Ichinkhorloo of Mongolia.

Birmingham 2022 bronze medallist Sydnee Andrews of New Zealand opens in the women’s heavyweight tournament against Brazil’s Victoria de Oliveira.

The competition has attracted 530 judoka from 83 nations.

"The Olympic Games in Paris are approaching fast, so at the Croatian Judo Federation we are delighted to organise this event so that we can offer judo athletes another chance to win ranking points," Croatian Judo Federation President Sanda Corak said.

Hungary’s Tokyo Olympic bronze medallist Krisztián Tóth has a bye in the first series of matches in the men's under-90kg, but is set eventually to meet either Canada’s Keagan Young or Tigo Renes of The Netherlands.  

In the men's half lightweight under-66kg category, 2022 European champion Bogdan Iatov from Ukraine is the recipient of a bye in pool A and will meet either Yesset Kuanov of Kazakhstan or Germany’s Martin Setz.

David Popovici of Canada comes to Zagreb straight from winning gold in the Francophone Games in Kinshasa and will open in the men's under-81kg category against Brazilian born Andrey Del Rosso Pirolo competing for Serbia in the opening contest of pool A.

Competition is scheduled to run from August 18 until August 20,