France enjoyed a head start as the world number one, the top ranked team and so had a bye in the round of 16. In their quarter-final they met the Republic of Korea who had defeated Kazakhstan 4-2 in the first round.
Azerbaijan won the second quarter, passing the host nation, Tajikistan, 4-2 in round 1. It was disappointing for the crowd but as always the people of Dushanbe get behind all strong judoka, no matter their flag, and they cheered for Azerbaijan even as their own athletes left early. Such is the spirit of this incredible country. Turkmenistan fell to Azerbaijan too but would have the chance to continue in the repechage.
Pool C was unpredictable with Brazil, Mongolia, Georgia and Turkiye all vying for the same spot in the semi-final stages. Brazil was defeated 4-2 by a young Mongolian team and then Georgia left early too at the hands of Turkiye. In the Mongolia-Turkiye match, the former won 4-1.
In the final quarter, Japan overcame Germany 4-0 and then Uzbekistan’s, also 4-0. Their domination through the morning session was quite staggering, no-one scoring against them, barely a shido collected. The Japanese team meant business and came to Dushanbe for only one colour of medal!
In the repechage, Korea took advantage of their second chance and overcame Turkmenistan 4-2. Uzbekistan offered an excellent team performance to eliminate Turkiye without dropping a single point.
The final block line-up was set:
Final
France vs Japan
Bronze medal matches
Korea vs Mongolia
Uzbekistan vs Azerbaijan