Japanese duo clinch maiden world titles

Two new world champions were crowned on day three, both debutants on the podium of the World Judo Championships in Baku. However, their national anthem was familiar to everyone present inside the National Gymnastics Arena, the Japanese flag flying high above the podium, one for each category.

Ryuga Tanaka won the -73 kg category, two years after his brother became world champion, while Akari Omori won the -57 kg category, defeating the 2025 champion Eteri Liparteliani in an unmissable final. Japan now has five gold medals in Baku and remains firmly at the top of the medal table. Makhmadbek Makhmadbekov of the UAE was a worthy silver medalist at -73 kg after a great day of judo. This is his second world medal after he won bronze last year.

A huge number of contenders had their eyes on the -73kg gold medal at the beginning of the day. Despite the presence of current Olympic champion Hidayat Heydarov of Azerbaijan and 2025 world champion Joan-Benjamin Gaba of France among many other illustrious names, they all fell on the wayside.

Tanaka and Makhmadbekov however are very well known names. Their listing in the final was not a huge shock even if others might have laid their claim to those spots. Their performances in the preliminaries left no doubt that they were in medal-winning shape.

This was an all-action final despite the three penalties seen on the scoreboard at full time. Both judoka attacked and fought incredibly hard for their preferred grips. A little before the gong, Tanaka delivered the biggest attack of the contest, a huge sode-tsuri-komi-goshi, but somehow Makhmadbekov escaped.

In golden score, Tanaka continued to look more composed than his opponent and after just 43 extra seconds he gripped the belt and drove into Makhmadbekov with a powerful o-uchi-gari. Tanaka had earned a yuko and a gold medal, Japan’s 5th of this world championship.

Joyously, Ryuga Tanaka said after the final, “I’m very, very pleased! Two years ago, my older brother became world champion, so being able to achieve the same thing today means a lot to me and to my family. We also have a younger brother and now I hope that one day the three of us can all become world champions.

I’m also really happy to know that people are supporting me not only in Japan but all around the world. To feel that they are cheering for me and for judo makes this moment even more special.”

Omori Takes an Incredible Win in Ne-Waza

Eteri Lipartelini arrived in the Azerbaijani capital with her red back patch and intended to leave the same way. Her power, her total commitment to winning and her impressive flexibility led her all the way to the -57kg final, for the second year in a row.

Omori of Japan, seven times a grand slam medallist, had the task of usurping the Georgian trailblazer.

Omori was sure of her tactics from the outset, stopping Liparteliani’s strong right hand and using her own crossed lapel grips to keep the distance between them. This didn’t stop Liparteliani from coming forward, creating a tsunami of unorthodox movements for Omori to contend with. As time progressed a penalty came for Georgi but two for Japan. Without positive scores though, the contest moved into extra time.

This fascinating clash of styles and a fierce gripping battle lasted for a total of six minutes and 7 seconds. It ended with a change of focus from Akari Omori who employed her skills in ne-waza to turn Liparteliani on to her back. She earned the all-important yuko and left the tatami as a world champion. Liparteliani has a new silver medal but won’t keep the red back patch; that is heading to Japan.

Akari Omori spoke clearly after the final, “I knew I was facing a very tough opponent so my goal was simply to trust the judo I had practised and use my skills as well as I could. I wasn’t certain what the result would be but I believed that if I gave everything and stayed true to my training, I could win.

Even though I won, I know there is still a lot I need to improve. I want to go home, work on those areas and continue progressing. For now, though, there is still work to do here, with the team event ahead of us. I want to stay focused and do everything I can to help Japan win.”