Spain stormed back at the World Judo Championships in Baku, securing three medals in a single day after a scoreless opening round. Ariane Toro claimed silver and Ayumi Leiva captured bronze in the women’s -52kg division, while David García Torné added a silver medal in the men’s -66kg category to erase the disappointment of early exits earlier in the week.
Ayumi Leiva Rebounds in Repechage for -52kg Bronze
Ayumi Leiva opened Spain's medal count after winning a grueling bracket in the women's -52kg tournament. The Valencia-based competitor, who fights as the world number three following a victory at the Hungary Grand Slam and bronze finishes at the Grand Prix events in Upper Austria and Qingdao, started her Baku campaign with ippon victories over India’s Nungshithoi Leishagthem and Cameroon’s Marie Cline Baba Matia. She advanced to the final block by defeating Hungary’s Roza Gyertyas by ippon in the quarterfinals.
In the semifinals, Leiva faced Japan’s Uta Abe, who secured an ippon victory at the 3:22 mark after building a score advantage. Relegated to the repechage, Leiva defeated Mongolia’s Uranzaya Bayanmunkh to lock up the bronze medal.
Ariane Toro Reaches Final Before Falling to Uta Abe in Golden Score
On the opposite side of the -52kg draw, fifth-ranked Ariane Toro opened with a win against Bulgaria’s Gabriela Dimitrova before surviving a tough round-of-16 match against Uzbekistan’s Sugdiyona Rafkatova. Toro advanced to the semifinals by defeating Mongolia’s Bayanmunkh and guaranteed the best result of her career—following a European bronze earlier this year—by scoring an ippon against Italy’s Odette Giuffrida, the 2024 world champion and a dual Olympic medalist.
In the final, Toro pushed Uta Abe into the golden score period before losing on a red card penalty, settling for the silver medal and completing a double podium for Spain in the weight class.
David García Torné Secures Men’s -66kg Silver After Surviving Opening Scare
In the men’s -66kg category, eighth-ranked David García Torné nearly exited the tournament in his opening match against the United Arab Emirates’ Narmandakh Bayanmunkh. Barely a minute into the bout, the Spanish fighter absorbed a heavy uchi-mata that narrowly missed earning an ippon, registering instead as a waza-ari. Recovering from the early deficit, García Torné rallied with an ippon to stay alive.
The Tarragona native then strung together three consecutive yuko victories over China’s Ziyang Xue, Mongolia’s Baskhuu Yondonperenlei, and Romania’s Denis Vieru, with all three matches extending into extra time or the final seconds of regulation. In the final, García Torné faced Japan’s Hifumi Abe, a double Olympic champion and brother of Uta Abe, who secured an ippon just over a minute into the bout to take the gold.
Early Round Departures Offset by Podium Success
The three medals offset a difficult start for the Spanish delegation on the opening day in Baku, which featured unexpected first-round defeats for Laura Martínez and Eva Pérez Soler in the women’s -48kg category. Luis Barroso also exited the men’s -60kg tournament in the second round, while Adrián Nieto fell in his opening match of the -66kg division to Turkmenistan’s Serdar Rahimov.
Spanish Schedule for Tuesday’s Third Session
Competition continues Tuesday with the third day of the world championships. Anton Shuhalieiev takes the mat in the men’s -73kg division, while Marta García and Adriana Rodríguez represent Spain in the women’s -57kg category.
