A Morning of Mixed Teams Mastery

Two round-one matches took place to complete the round-of-16 line-up. Austria and UAE were the first two teams to leave the competition.

In the next round, Brazil were beaten by China in a nail-biting golden score finish, the final result 4-3 to China. For China, Huang (-90 kg) made the winning difference by beating world number two Leonardo Goncalves, not once but twice.

Cuba, Kyrgyzstan, Italy, Germany, Korea and Kazakstan also exited in the round of 16 alongside hosts Azerbaijan.

Drawn against Japan, a very strong Japan indeed, every team struggled. Azerbaijan pulled one win back but went out, 4-1. However, even with their heroes missing from the remainder of the day, the arena remains full to the brim. This is a country of judo fans and the judo on show in the National Gymnastics Arena is extraordinary.

The Quarter-Finals

The People’s Republic of China, carried on a wave of momentum, breezed past Türkiye 4-1, while in pool B Japan defeated Mongolia 4-1. On the bottom half of the draw Uzbekistan caused a major upset by beating the 2025 champions, Georgia. It was a very close match, Umida Nigmatova (UZB) winning a +70 kg golden score contest to seal the victory and take Uzbekistan into the semi-finals.

Last but not least, Russia beat France, also needing a dramatic bonus win for the 4-3 lead. Mansur Lorsanov was the author of that win, throwing Aleksa Mitrovic (FRA) for a yuko in extra time.

Repechage

Both repechage matches were concluded with 4-3 scorelines. Georgia sent France home without the chance to fight for a medal while Mongolia put an end to Turkiye’s excellent run.

Double Olympic champion Lasha Bekauri left the individual completion early after a first ever loss to new world champion Sanshiro Murao (JPN) but in the team event he came into his own. Without a doubt, Bekauri was Georgia’s hero once again. He sustained an injury in the first match against Mitrovic but was then selected for the last golden score contest. He limped to his line and proceeded to give everything for his team. He scored, clearly in pain, taking his team through to the final block.

Semi-Finals

In the semi-finals there was a whole new situation to contend with that eliminated the need for a golden score contest. In the Japan vs China match, with Japan 1-0 up after the first contest, Lu Liu (CHN) and Shiho Tanaka (JPN) were both disqualified after a long period of inactivity. Everyone looked shocked but without sincere attacks being made and only gripping being observed, it seems to be the only logical conclusion. This meant any three wins would be enough to take the team victory.

Murao and Mao Arai then won their contests to take Japan to 3-0 up. Japan was through and China would be fighting for bronze.

The other semi-final went the full distance, Russia winning 4-3, saved by the incredible Inal Tasoev. The newly crowned individual champion delivered astounded technique, throwing -100 kg world champion Muzzafarbek Turoboyev (UZB) with a massive sasae-tsuri-komi-ashi having been down a score from the opening exchange in their first contest. Drawn again for golden score, Tasoev threw again, showing exactly why he is a 3-time world champion.

The final block, medal contest only, will be live on JudoTV.com from 6pm local time. Tune in and feel the atmosphere of an incredible IJF mixed team final.