2018 World Judo Championship wraps up in Baku
The 2018 World Judo Championship, which took place on September 20-27 at Baku’s National Gymnastics Arena has come to an end.
The 2018 World Judo Championship, which took place on September 20-27 at Baku’s National Gymnastics Arena has come to an end.
The tournament in Baku has record number of athletes. Nearly 800 judokas from 125 nations have come to the Azerbaijani capital, making it the home of one the largest World Championships to date.
President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva and family members, President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, President of Mongolia Khaltmaagiin Battulga and President of the International Judo Federation Marius Vizer watched the mixed team competitions from the stand of the Arena.
Japan is the most successful judo nation in the world, and it one more justified itself in Baku after Japan earned a 4-1 victory over France to capture the mixed team event title for the second straight year and added an eighth gold medal to a 17-medal haul.
A unified Korean team made history by earning bronze along with Russia. Russian team defeated national team with a score of 1:4, so Azerbaijan finished mixed team competitions in fifth place. As many as 11 national judo fighters attended the Championships bringing together 18 teams.
Azerbaijani team won two medals in individuals of the World Championships.
National judoka Ushangi Kokauri (+100 kg) has captured a silver medal after losing to Georgian Guram Tushishvili.
Commenting on his victory after the game Kokauri said he is happy to win a medal.
“This is the first time I won a medal at the world championship. I believed that I would win in the final, I worked hard but failed. Nevertheless, I'm very glad that I won a silver medal in the championship,” he said.
The member of national team, Hidayet Heydarov (+73 kg) claimed bronze medal. Kramat Huseynov (60 kg) took fifth place, and Irina Kindzerska (+78 kg) ranks seventh.
President Ilham Aliyev and First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva then met with Azerbaijani judokas.
The head of state congratulated the athletes on their victory.
“Our athletes have won silver and bronze medals. Other Azerbaijani athletes have also demonstrated excellent fighting spirit, and our team is among the leading teams. All these are remarkable achievements and a great success of the Azerbaijani judo school. You are delighting all our people,” he said.
The fact that Azerbaijan is hosting the world judo championship is a great event in itself, the President noted.
It shows that Azerbaijan has taken great steps towards successful development on a global scale,” he said.
The tournament brought together 460 male and 298 female judokas. Only 22 of 125 countries have won medals at the World Judo Championship in Baku.
Japan won 16 out of 56 medals (seven gold, five silver and four bronze). In this regard, Japanese athletes captured five gold medals in women’s fight and two gold medals in men's competition.
The remaining two gold medals were awarded to South Korea, one medal to France, Georgia, Iran, Ukraine and Spain.
The next World Cup will be held a year later in the homeland of judo, Japan. The Championships will be hosted by Tokyo - the capital of next Olympic Games 2020.