Canadian judoka Keagan Young was eliminated in the under-90 kg category at the World Judo Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan, after dropping a bout to Azerbaijan’s Eljan Hajiyev. The Ontario native started strong before being caught by a decisive ippon.
Early Aggression Undone by Hajiyev’s Ippon in Baku
Competing at the senior world championships for the first time, Young seized the initiative immediately. He pressed forward and scored an early yuko to put pressure on the home-crowd favorite. Hajiyev absorbed the opening blow, however, and quickly turned the momentum of the match. The Azerbaijani competitor executed a sharp ippon in the subsequent sequence to halt Young’s tournament run.
Canadian coach Antoine Valois-Fortier pointed to the fine margins at the elite international level. “Keagan set the tone by scoring quickly, but he perhaps got a little carried away and couldn’t manage the rest of the match,” Valois-Fortier said. “He was a little disappointed, especially because he had been the first to score, which proved that he was capable of fighting with his opponent.”
Building Experience for the Future on the World Stage
The loss marks a steep learning curve for Young, who arrived in Baku following gold-medal performances at the Pan American Opens in Buenos Aires and Santiago last June. His opponent carried formidable credentials into the tournament, having claimed a bronze medal at the previous year’s world championships in Hungary and a victory at the 2025 Dushanbe Grand Slam in Tajikistan.
“It was a big challenge from the start of the day, but I believe Keagan has the ability to throw just about anyone,” Valois-Fortier noted. “It’s too bad he wasn’t able to control the fight more after scoring. He was physically ready for this important competition.”
Valois-Fortier emphasized that the adversity will ultimately serve Young’s long-term development. “We know he has good caliber, but experience is what’s still lacking a bit. It’s with big fights like this that he’s going to win some. There is positivity, he scored, that’s the trade coming in at big championships. He is capable of scoring, now he has to learn to manage leads.”
Next Steps for the Canadian Delegation in Azerbaijan
The individual competitions at the World Championships continue Friday with two more Canadian athletes stepping onto the tatami for the penultimate day of action in Baku. Kyle Reyes is scheduled to face Portugal’s Jorge Fonseca in the under-100 kg division.
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