Azerbaijan has made history at the 2026 World Judo Championships in Baku, claiming a record five medals and climbing to second place in the standings behind Japan as more than 620 athletes from over 90 countries compete in the Azerbaijani capital.
Eight years after first hosting the event, Baku is once again welcoming the world’s leading judoka for seven days of competition, running from 4 to 10 October.
The individual events see two world titles decided each day, beginning with the men’s under-60kg and women’s under-48kg categories and culminating in the heavyweight divisions on the final day.
Competition is fierce across several weight categories. The men’s under-100kg division has the largest field, with 56 athletes, followed by the under-73kg category with 50 and the under-90kg category with 49.
Among women, 48 athletes are competing in the under-63kg category, while the under-70kg and under-78kg divisions each have 44 competitors.
Azerbaijan has fielded the largest delegation, with additional entries across the men’s weight categories. Other major teams include Japan, South Korea, Russia, the U.S., Brazil, Mongolia, France, Uzbekistan and Italy.
The host nation has achieved its best-ever medal haul at a single World Judo Championships, securing five medals and rising to second place in the standings behind Japan.
Murad Fatiyev delivered the historic fifth medal, claiming bronze in the men’s under-90kg category after defeating Serbia’s Nemanja Majdov.
The bout went into Golden Score, where Fatiyev earned a decisive yuko to secure his first career World Championships medal.
His victory sealed a landmark achievement for Azerbaijani judo, marking the country’s most successful World Championships by total medals won.
Japan’s Sanshiro Murao claimed gold in the men’s under-90kg division, defeating compatriot Goki Tajima in an all-Japanese final.
Murao sealed the title with an ippon, judo’s highest score, extending his unbeaten run to 27 matches.
The triumph further strengthened Japan’s lead in the medal standings heading into the final day of competition.
Georgia’s Tato Grigalashvili secured his country’s first gold medal of the championships with a hard-fought victory over Azerbaijan’s Zelim Tsakaev in the men’s under-81kg final.
The closely contested bout went into Golden Score before Grigalashvili clinched victory in the fourth minute of overtime.
Tsakaev took silver, adding another medal to Azerbaijan’s record-breaking haul on home soil.
The World Judo Championships conclude in Baku on 10 October, with the remaining individual gold medals to be contested in the heavier weight categories.
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