Japan reclaimed the mixed team world championship title at the World Judo Championships in Baku, defeating opponents through a series of decisive matches that culminated in an eighth global crown for the nation. The victory marked a return to the top of the podium after a bronze-medal finish in the team competition the previous year.
Semifinal Battles Against China and the Russian Team
In the semifinal round, Japan faced the People’s Republic of China. Uchimura secured an early advantage for Japan before Murao, a two-time world champion, extended the lead with an ippon. Arai then executed a decisive turnover to secure Japan’s passage to the final.
The opposing semifinal paired Uzbekistan against the Russian team. Ahadov put Uzbekistan ahead with an early ippon, but Lishchenko leveled the score with a yuko. Murtozoev pushed the score to 2–1 before Rechkalova forced her opponent to submit, tying the contest at 2–2. Tasoev earned a point to put his team ahead, and Aminova equalized at 3–3, forcing a golden score playoff. Following a draw in the over-90-kilogram category, Tasoev secured an ippon in the tiebreak to send his team into the mixed team final for the first time in history.
Championship Final and Medal Ceremonies
Tension filled the arena as Japan met their opponents in the gold medal match. Shiho Tanaka opened the final by securing a yuko to give Japan an early lead. Sanshiro Murao followed with another victory on the tatami, stretching the advantage to 2–0. Mao Arai added a third win, bringing the score to 3–0.
Tamerlan Bashaev narrowed the deficit by winning his match, but Akari Omori sealed the overall victory by winning her bout, securing the eighth team world gold medal for Japan. International Judo Federation President Marius Vizer presented the gold trophy, while Almaz Alsenov, general director of Harvest Group, handed out the silver trophy. Dr. Laszlo Toth and Obaid Al Anzi, both vice-presidents of the International Judo Federation, awarded the two bronze trophies.
“We lost last year, so I am really happy that we won this year,” Japanese judoka Sanshiro Murao said following the victory.
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