Valerio Accogli secured a seventh-place finish in the men’s -66 kg category at the 2026 World Judo Championships in Baku, according to reports from Oasport. Competing at the National Gymnastics Arena during the morning session of the second day of the tournament—the main event of the entire season running from October 4 to October 11—the 22-year-old Italian reached the quarterfinals in his absolute debut appearance at a senior world championship after a remarkable growth path that brought him close to the top 10 of the international ranking.
Handling a Difficult Draw in Baku
Accogli advanced through the early rounds of a highly competitive division by defeating several established international opponents. Oasport reported that the young Roman judoka started his run by overcoming Uzbekistan’s Azizbek Ortikov with a yuko after nearly four minutes of Golden Score. He then advanced past Ukraine’s Vadym Chernov via a sum of penalties before securing another yuko in Golden Score against the world number four, Azerbaijan’s Ruslan Pashayev.
Accogli Loses to Abe and Chopanov
The Italian’s progress in the main bracket was halted by Japanese champion Hifumi Abe. According to Oasport, Accogli accumulated three penalties and was disqualified at the 3:43 mark against Abe, who was pursuing his fifth individual world title. Dropping into the repechage, Accogli missed out on a spot in the bronze medal match after losing to Russia’s Murad Chopanov by a score of two yukos to one.
Impact on Olympic Rankings and Italian Teammates
Despite missing the podium, the seventh-place finish provides valuable ranking points for Accogli as he pursues qualification for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games. Oasport noted that the competitor representing the Carabinieri sports section expressed satisfaction with his performance level throughout the day. In the same -66 kg category, fellow Italian Matteo Piras was eliminated in his opening match after falling to Lithuania’s Simas Polikevicius by a double yuko.
The Gold Medal Match Lineup
The protagonists of the final for the gold medal will be the heavy favorite Hifumi Abe—who defeated his compatriot Takeshi Takeoka in the semifinal to move one step away from his fifth individual world title—and Spain’s David Garcia Torne.
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