Japanese judoka Sanshiro Murao secured the gold medal in the men’s 90kg division, defeating compatriot Goki Tajima at the Baku National Gymnastics Arena on October 8, 2026, according to eJudo.
Murao and Tajima Lead 49-Man Field in Baku
The tournament opened with 49 entries in the 90kg category. Murao won the draw to claim the world title, while Tajima earned the silver medal after their encounter in the final match. Murad Fatiyev of Azerbaijan and Boris Rutovic of Serbia claimed the bronze medals.
The fifth-place finishes went to Nemanja Majdov of Serbia and Maxime-Gael Ngayap Hambou of France. Nurbek Murtozoev of Uzbekistan and Aleksa Mitrovic of France rounded out the top eight by taking seventh place.
Opening Round Results at National Gymnastics Arena
Competition in the 49-athlete bracket began with a busy first-round slate on the Baku tatami. Erlan Sherov of Kyrgyzstan eliminated Alex Cret of Romania with a seoi-nage at 48 seconds. Lasha Bekauri of Georgia defeated Minki Song of South Korea via harai-makikomi at 1:36. Lachlan Moorhead of Great Britain advanced past Remy Feuille of Mauritius with a waza-ari score from a kata-guruma.
Ivaylo Ivanov of Bulgaria stopped Peter Safrany of Hungary with a hansoku-make combination of uki-otoshi and sumi-otoshi at 3:19. Maxime-Gael Ngayap Hambou advanced past David Klamert of Czechia after three shido penalties at 3:25. Eljan Hajiyev of Azerbaijan likewise defeated Alexander Naujof of the United States on shido penalties at 3:44.
Kenny Komi Bedel of Italy eliminated Yuta Galareta of Peru via hansoku-make at 2:28. Eduard Trippel of Germany scored a waza-ari with a tomoe-nage to defeat Roy Sivan of Israel. Boris Rutovic overcame Igor Andni of Russia on a waza-ari scored from a sumi-otoshi.
Judo Athletes Compete in Second Round and Golden Score Bouts
Daniar Melisov of Kyrgyzstan threw Aharon Santamaria-Rodriguez of Spain with an ura-nage at 2:49. Mikhail Latyshev of Moldova defeated John Jayne of the United States with a combination of sumi-otoshi and uki-otoshi at 1:34. Suleyman Shukurov of Azerbaijan scored a waza-ari off an de-ashi-barai against Cornelius Eilertsen of Norway.
GerGely Nerpel of Hungary defeated Chen Peng-Yu of Taiwan with a combination of daki-wakare and osoto-gaeshi at 2:11. Theodoros Tselidis of Greece outlasted Yahor Varapaeu of Belarus in golden score, winning via hansoku-make at 1:04 of extra time. Klen Kristofer Kaljulaid of Estonia also advanced in golden score, defeating Alex Bart of Slovakia with a sumi-otoshi at 4:2, seconds into overtime.
Aleksa Mitrovic defeated Umar Bozorov of Uzbekistan with a soto-gari at 2:57. Adam Kopecky of Czechia threw Namory Keita of Senegal with an o-uchi-gari in just 21 seconds.
Murao Wins Championship as Tajima Takes Runner-Up Spot
The tournament concluded with the presentation of medals to the top four athletes on the podium in Azerbaijan. Murao stood atop the podium as champion, with Tajima beside him as runner-up. Fatiyev and Rutovic received their bronze medals to complete the podium lineup.
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