Ryuga Tanaka claimed the men’s 73kg gold medal on Oct. 6, 2026, defeating Makhmadbek Makhmadbekov at the Baku National Gymnastics Arena, eJudo reported. Tanaka secured the title in a 50-man bracket, overcoming a tough field that featured leading international competitors in the division.
Tanaka Claims Gold Over Makhmadbekov in Baku
Tanaka earned his place atop the podium by defeating Makhmadbekov of the United Arab Emirates in the championship match. Makhmadbekov took the silver medal, while Rashid Mammadaliyev of Azerbaijan and Dayyan Boulemtafes of France secured the bronze medals. The tournament brought together 50 athletes from around the globe to compete at the Baku National Gymnastics Arena in Azerbaijan.
The path to the podium required completing a demanding preliminary rounds schedule. In his opening bout, Tanaka defeated Portugal’s Otari Kvantidze by uki-otoshi at 2 minutes and 12 seconds. Other notable early victories included Dardan Sena of Kosovo overcoming Ireland’s Joshua Green by waza-ari off a yokogake, and Leonardo Valeriani of Italy throwing Turkey’s Bilal Ciloglu with a seoi-nage at 2 minutes and 43 seconds.
Brazil, Israel and Italy Secure Top Eight Finishes
Beyond the medalists, several competitors fought their way through the repechage and placement blocks to secure top-eight finishes in the 73kg division. Daniel Cargnin of Brazil and Yehonatan Elbaz of Israel finished in fifth place after dropping their respective placement matches. Meanwhile, Leonardo Valeriani and Giovanni Esposito, both representing Italy, took seventh place in the final standings.
The opening round also featured swift finishes and tactical battles across the board. France’s Dayyan Boulemtafes advanced past Kazakhstan’s Angsalbek Gaynulin in Golden Score after earning three shidos for penalties at 2 minutes and 34 seconds of overtime.
First-Round Results and Notable Bouts
In other opening-round action, Said-Magomed Khalidov of Ukraine advanced via a default win over An Jae-hong of South Korea. Turkey’s Ibrahim Demirel defeated Benjamin Levy of Great Britain by sode-guruma-jime at 2 minutes and 23 seconds. Narek Vardanyan of Sweden overcame the IJF Refugee Team’s Paul-Jewel Alima Houda following three penalties at 3 minutes and 31 seconds.
Azerbaijan’s Hidayat Heydarov defeated Kosovo’s Akil Gjakova with a combined score of sumi-otoshi and sumi-gaeshi at 3 minutes and 44 seconds. Bulgaria’s Viktor Skerlev edged France’s Joan-Benjamin Gaba in Golden Score via o-soto-gari at 6 minutes and 42 seconds.
Next Competition Checkpoint
The Baku World Judo Championships continue through the week at the Baku National Gymnastics Arena, with subsequent weight categories contesting their preliminary rounds and medal blocks according to the official International Judo Federation schedule.
