Japan\u2019s So Morichika demonstrated remarkable patience and control in a tactical final, earning another gold for her nation with teammate Haru Akita delivering a fifth Japanese gold with his technical mastery at the World Junior Judo Championships in Lima, Peru.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The women’s -63 kg final block featured an exciting mix of technical mastery and fresh talent. Viktoriia Martynenko, a neutral entrant, was one of the revelations of the day, earning her place in the gold medal contest after a dominant run through the preliminaries, where she impressed with her sharp transitions and confident attitude. Morichika battled through an exhausting semi-final against Italian Savita Russo, proving her resilience and tactical depth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the final, after just a few seconds, Morichika took the lead with a sharp ippon-ko-uchi-gari for a first yuko, immediately setting the tone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Martynenko was on alert, but the Japanese judoka maintained relentless pressure, adding a second yuko from a reverse seoi-otoshi. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Always on the attack, Morichika allowed her opponent little space to respond and widened the gap with a third score from a neat ashi-waza. Despite carrying two penalties, she managed the contest intelligently to secure the victory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The -81 kg final block featured a strong and diverse line-up, perfectly reflecting the intensity of the earlier rounds. Neutral entrant Akhmed Turluev, who showed sharp control and precision throughout the preliminaries, earned his place in the gold medal contest against Akita, whose experience and mastery had carried him through the lower half of the draw.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the final, the contest began at a measured pace before Turluev seized the advantage with what seemed to be a well-timed seoi-otoshi but after video review, the score was annulled. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
What followed was a gripping duel, Turluev\u2019s power against Akita\u2019s technique. With less than a minute to go, Turluev narrowly escaped a dangerous stranglehold from the Japanese judoka, surviving by sheer willpower. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In golden score, Akita finally found the opening he had been searching for, using a perfectly executed ko-soto-gari to score a decisive yuko, sealing Japan\u2019s victory and claiming a fifth gold medal of the tournament.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The women’s -70 kg final block featured a high-level line-up that perfectly reflected the intensity of the day\u2019s competition. In the gold medal contest, world number one April Lynn Fohouo of Switzerland faced Aleksandra Andric pf Serbia, both judoka having shown impressive consistency and focus throughout the preliminaries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the final the contest was over almost as quickly as it began. In less than a minute, April Lynn Fohouo executed a perfectly timed sasae-tsuri-komi-ashi, throwing her opponent powerfully onto her back with precision, speed, and control, all the ingredients of a flawless ippon. A stunning finish and a well-deserved gold medal for Switzerland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The men’s -73 kg final block promised a thrilling conclusion to one of the day\u2019s most dynamic categories. Tajikistan\u2019s Muhiddin Asadulloev, who stunned world number one Keito Kihara of Japan in the semi-final, earned his place in the gold medal contest against another Ryusei Arakawa, ensuring that Japan still had a strong chance to claim the top of the podium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was clear from the first grip that both judoka were ready to take risks and push the pace. The opening exchanges were fought at an electrifying rhythm that barely slowed throughout the contest. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Arakawa seemed to gain a slight advantage midway through, controlling the kumi-kata and tempo but Asadulloev\u2019s determination and timing made the difference. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
With less than a minute remaining, the Tajik judoka executed a perfectly timed counter for yuko, enough to secure the gold medal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Women’s -63 kg<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 1. MORICHIKA So (JPN)<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2. MARTYNENKO Viktoriia (IJF)<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3. RUSSO Savita (ITA)<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3. CHANAMBAM Linthoi (IND)<\/p>\n\n\n\n 5. SAPARBOEVA Nigina (UZB)<\/p>\n\n\n\n 5. GEILEN Joni (NED)<\/p>\n\n\n\n 7. MESICEK Neza (SLO)<\/p>\n\n\n\n 7. TSURKAN Ilariia (SLO)<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1. FOHOUO April Lynn (SUI)<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2. ANDRIC Aleksandra (SRB)<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3. DARBES-TAKAM Teophila (FRA)<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3. CVJETKO Jana (CRO)<\/p>\n\n\n\n 5. NILSSON Ingrid (SWE)<\/p>\n\n\n\n 5. BAYSUG Ecem (TUR)<\/p>\n\n\n\n 7. MOLDOKULOVA Alina (KGZ)<\/p>\n\n\n\n 7. OGNIVOVA Eva (IJF)<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1. AKITA Haru (JPN)<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2. TURLUEV Akhmed (IJF)<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3. SIMIN Mihajlo (SRB)<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3. MUXIBIDDINOV Samariddin (UZB)<\/p>\n\n\n\n 5. GRAHOVAC Dusan (SRB)<\/p>\n\n\n\n 5. DE LANGE Joshua (NED)<\/p>\n\n\n\n 7. AKHLOURI Sandro (GEO)<\/p>\n\n\n\n 7. DIKAJEV Saad (EST)<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1. ASADULLOEV Muhiddin (TJK)<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2. ARAKAWA Ryusei (JPN)<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3. GOGINASHVILI Irakli (GBR)<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3. KIHARA Keito (JPN)<\/p>\n\n\n\n 5. VARDANIAN Narek (SWE)<\/p>\n\n\n\n 5. CROITORU Renat (MDA)<\/p>\n\n\n\n 7. BELBELHOUT Abdeslam (ALG)<\/p>\n\n\n\n 7. LEVY Benjamin (GBR)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Japan\u2019s So Morichika demonstrated remarkable patience and control in a tactical final, earning another gold for her nation<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4271,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[106],"class_list":["post-4269","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsbeat","tag-judo"],"aioseo_notices":[],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Final-Viktoriia-Martynenko-IJF-vs-So-Morichika-JPN.jpg",640,541,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Final-Viktoriia-Martynenko-IJF-vs-So-Morichika-JPN-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Final-Viktoriia-Martynenko-IJF-vs-So-Morichika-JPN-300x254.jpg",300,254,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Final-Viktoriia-Martynenko-IJF-vs-So-Morichika-JPN.jpg",640,541,false],"large":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Final-Viktoriia-Martynenko-IJF-vs-So-Morichika-JPN.jpg",640,541,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Final-Viktoriia-Martynenko-IJF-vs-So-Morichika-JPN.jpg",640,541,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Final-Viktoriia-Martynenko-IJF-vs-So-Morichika-JPN.jpg",640,541,false],"morenews-large":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Final-Viktoriia-Martynenko-IJF-vs-So-Morichika-JPN.jpg",640,541,false],"morenews-medium":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Final-Viktoriia-Martynenko-IJF-vs-So-Morichika-JPN-590x410.jpg",590,410,true]},"author_info":{"info":["admin"]},"category_info":"Newsbeat<\/a>","tag_info":"Newsbeat","comment_count":"0","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Final-Viktoriia-Martynenko-IJF-vs-So-Morichika-JPN.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4269","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4269"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4269\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4272,"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4269\/revisions\/4272"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4271"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4269"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4269"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4269"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Women’s -70 kg<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Men’s -81 kg<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Final Results (-73 kg)<\/h4>\n\n\n\n