The 2026 World Judo Championships opened on October 4, 2026, in Baku, Azerbaijan, bringing together 622 athletes from 93 countries and regions for competition.
Individual events ran through October 10 at the National Gymnastics Arena, while the mixed team competition took place on October 11, according to baike.baidu.com. The tournament featured 14 individual weight classes alongside the team event.
Host nation Azerbaijan fielded a 24-athlete delegation led by Olympic champions Hidayat Heydarov and Zelim Kotsoev. The field also included 12 world number-one fighters, 10 defending champions, and five Paris Olympic gold medalists.
In the men’s 60kg final on October 4, Kazakhstan’s Sherzod Davlatov scored an early waza-ari. Host nation competitor Ahmad Yusifov answered with two successive waza-ari scores to secure the gold medal.
Japan claimed the women’s 48kg title on opening day as Wakana Koga defeated Italy’s Assunta Scutto in the final. China entered a squad of 14 athletes, consisting of five men and nine women.
Chinese competitors faced early exits on the opening day. Hui Xinran and Zhuang Nana exited in the women’s 48kg 32nd and 16th rounds respectively, while Sun Jiahao bowed out in the men’s 60kg 32nd round.
Individual competition concluded on October 10 with bouts in the heavy divisions. Russia’s Inal Tasoev won the men’s over-100kg gold, and South Korea’s Lee Hyun-ji claimed the women’s over-78kg title.
Japan topped the individual medal table with seven golds, two silvers, and three bronzes. Host Azerbaijan finished second overall with seven medals, comprising one gold, two silvers, and four bronzes, while Russia placed third with five medals.
Wang Nan recorded the best individual result for the Chinese team by tying for seventh place in the women’s 57kg division. The mixed team tournament wrapped up on October 11 with a victory for Japan.
Japan secured the mixed team gold medal, leaving Russia with the silver. Georgia and Uzbekistan collected the bronze medals, while China and Mongolia shared fifth place in the final team standings.
