Akari Omori and Ryuga Tanaka secured two more world titles for Japan on Tuesday at the World Judo Championships in Baku, extending the team’s dominant run to five gold medals out of six contested weight classes over the first three days of competition. Le Figaro reported that Omori claimed her first career world title in the -57kg division after defeating defending champion Eteri Liparteliani of Georgia in golden score, while Tanaka captured the -73kg crown by overcoming Makhmadbek Makhmadbekov of the United Arab Emirates.
Golden Score Triumph for Omori in the Minus-Fifty-Seven Kilogram Final
The women’s -57kg final pitted Akari Omori against reigning world champion Eteri Liparteliani in a bout that stretched into the golden score period. According to Euronews, Omori won a grueling preliminary bracket that included a difficult match against her compatriot Momo Tamaoki before reaching the gold-medal match. In the final, Omori established control on the ground, successfully rolling and pinning Liparteliani to seal the victory. Marica Perisic of Serbia and Ana Viktorija Puljiz of Croatia collected the bronze medals in the category, as detailed by Le Figaro and Eurosport.
Tanaka Overcomes Top-Seeded Test to Claim Minus-Seventy-Three Kilogram Gold
Ryuga Tanaka faced a demanding path through the men’s -73kg bracket before meeting the United Arab Emirates competitor Makhmadbek Makhmadbekov in the final. Euronews reported that Tanaka eliminated the category’s number-one seed during the preliminaries and advanced past the semifinal with a decisive waza-ari. In the championship match against world number three Makhmadbekov, Tanaka delivered the winning score with a powerful o-uchi-gari attack that projected his opponent for a yuko. Rashid Mammadaliyev of Azerbaijan and Dayyan Boulemtafes of France rounded out the podium with bronze medals.
Japanese Momentum and Host Nation Standings After Three Days
With Tuesday’s results, the Japanese delegation has secured five of the six gold medals awarded across the opening three days of the Baku championships. Eurosport noted that the host nation, Azerbaijan, remains the only other country to claim a title during the tournament, courtesy of Ahmad Yusifov’s victory in the -60kg division on Sunday. The competition continues at the National Gymnastics Arena as athletes advance through the remaining weight categories of the world championships.
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