The Mixed Teams World Judo Championships took place in Baku, Azerbaijan, where the Chinese team orchestrated a major upset in the upper bracket by defeating top-seeded Brazil, as reported by L’Esprit du Judo.
China Stuns Top-Seeded Brazil in Baku Upper Bracket
Facing the tournament’s number one seed in Baku, the Chinese squad managed a 3-3 tie against the Brazilian team before securing the decisive victory in the over-90kg category. Fuchun Huang defeated Leonardo Goncalves—traditionally a minus-100kg competitor—using a rear counter-attack that earned a yuko. Huang, ranked 15th in the world, entered the match with momentum following his victory at the Dushanbe Grand Slam in early May.
France Prepares for Kazakhstan Clash in Round of 16
Entering the final round-of-16 matchup in the 18-team tournament, the French national team announced its lineup to face Kazakhstan. The selection features Tieman Diaby in the over-90kg division, Martha Fawaz at minus-57kg, Dayyan Boulemtafes at minus-73kg, Clémence Émé at minus-70kg, Aleksa Mitrovic at minus-90kg, and Léa Fontaine in the over-70kg category.
Russia Advances Past United Arab Emirates to Face South Korea
Opting to field its primary team two years ahead of the Olympic cycle, Russia advanced comfortably through the preliminary rounds with a 4-1 victory over the United Arab Emirates. Guided by coaches Arsen Galstyan and Sirazhudin Magomedov, the Russian squad booked a next-round fixture against South Korea. The match featured a notable o-soto-gari by over-70kg competitor Elis Startseva—who had missed out during her individual competition—alongside an okuri-ashi-barai by Irina Zueva in the minus-57kg division with seconds remaining, and a turnover executed by minus-70kg bronze medalist Madina Taimazova. The Emirati team was marked by the first participation in this team event for the group led by Victor Scvortov.
Tournament Format and Context
The mixed team competition has served as the traditional conclusion to the world championships week since 2017. A total of 18 nations entered the 2026 edition in Azerbaijan, all aiming to halt Japan’s historical unbeaten run in the team category. Coverage of the event’s schedule and broadcast details across RMC Sport 1 and Judo TV was also tracked by alljudo.net for the championships held from October 4 to October 11.
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