The third competition day of the World Judo Championships in Baku proved to be one of the most unpredictable since the start of the tournament.
As reported by İdman.Biz, the world champions in the women's 57 kg and men's 73 kg categories were crowned at the National Gymnastics Arena on October 6. However, the results were far from the only talking point: the 2025 world champion was pushed to the brink of physical exhaustion, Olympic champion Hidayat Heydarov's weight category turned into a genuine "graveyard" of favorites, while a Japanese winner revealed an unusual family dream.
Nearly vomited after ten minutes
One of the toughest stories of the day involved 2025 world champion Joan-Benjamin Gaba in the men's 73 kg category.
The 25-year-old Frenchman was eliminated in his opening contest by 20-year-old Bulgarian Viktor Skerlev. The bout lasted around ten minutes before Skerlev secured victory with a yuko.
After the contest, Gaba admitted that he had been close to his physical limit.
"I felt like vomiting. I was in really bad shape. It was difficult for me to get up," the Frenchman said.
His condition was largely the result of far from ideal preparation. Gaba injured his shoulder after falling off a bicycle in June and spent around three months virtually without judo. The French coaching staff had even preferred to protect him from competing, but the 2025 world champion insisted on travelling to Baku because he wanted to defend his title.
After the defeat, Gaba admitted that his body would simply not have been able to withstand the six full contests required to win the gold medal.
A 'graveyard' of favorites
The men's 73 kg competition turned into a real trap for some of the biggest names in the division.
Along with reigning world champion Gaba, Olympic champion Hidayat Heydarov also made an early exit. The Azerbaijani star reached the round of 16, where he lost to Italy's Giovanni Esposito after receiving a third shido.
Top seed Mukhiddin Asadulloev of Tajikistan was eliminated in the second round after losing to Ryuga Tanaka.
Another major upset saw Georgia's Lasha Shavdatuashvili, a world champion and three-time Olympic medalist, beaten by young Kosovar Dardan Cena, who was ranked only 72nd in the world before the championships.
In the end, unseeded Tanaka claimed the gold medal after defeating Mahmadbek Mahmadbekov of the United Arab Emirates in the final.
Three brothers, three world champions?
Ryuga Tanaka's victory produced another remarkable family story at the championships.
After the final, the 22-year-old Japanese judoka recalled that his elder brother, Rema Tanaka, had become world champion two years earlier. Rema won gold in the 66 kg category at the 2024 World Championships in Abu Dhabi.
But the family's story may not end there. The brothers have a younger sibling who also practices judo.
Following his victory in Baku, Ryuga revealed his dream of seeing all three brothers become world champions one day.
The Tanaka family therefore needs just one more world title to complete a unique achievement.
The current World Championships have already produced another Japanese family double. Siblings Hifumi and Uta Abe won gold in Baku in the 66 kg and 52 kg categories respectively.
Remarkably, they had previously achieved the same feat in the Azerbaijani capital. At the 2018 World Championships in Baku, Hifumi and Uta also became world champions in their respective weight categories.
Tears of a 20-year-old debutant
While Gaba endured one of the toughest days of his career, another Frenchman in the same category experienced completely different emotions.
Twenty-year-old Dayyan Boulemtafes was competing at a senior World Championships for the first time and immediately claimed a bronze medal.
The Frenchman defeated Azerbaijan's Rashid Mammadaliyev in the quarterfinals before losing to eventual champion Ryuga Tanaka. He then comfortably overcame Israel's Yehonatan Elbaz in the bronze medal contest.
Immediately after the victory, Boulemtafes burst into tears on the tatami as he realized he had secured the first senior world medal of his career.
Just two years ago, the French judoka was still competing at junior level. In April this year, he won bronze at the senior European Championships and has now repeated that achievement on the world stage.
Bronze without a fight
One of the bronze medals in the women's 57 kg category was decided in unusual circumstances.
Croatia's Ana Viktorija Puljiz successfully progressed through the repechage and was due to face Sarah-Léonie Cysique. However, the French judoka was taken to hospital following a heavy fall in her semifinal and was unable to return to the tatami.
As a result, Puljiz received the bronze medal without having to contest the decisive bout.
It was the Croatian's first senior World Championships podium. She also became only the third Croatian woman to win a World Championships medal after Barbara Matic and Lara Cvjetko.
A father's bronze and a dream for his son
Azerbaijan also had its own emotional story as Rashid Mammadaliyev won the first senior World Championships medal of his career.
In the bronze medal contest, he faced Brazil's Daniel Cargnin.
The bout went into Golden Score and continued for around another three and a half minutes. Cargnin eventually received a third penalty, handing Mammadaliyev victory and Azerbaijan's second medal of the home World Championships after Ahmad Yusifov's gold.
After the medal ceremony, Mammadaliyev revealed a personal dream in an interview with İdman.Biz. The judoka said he would like his son to take up the sport in the future.
According to Mammadaliyev, he would like to coach his son himself and one day see him become European, world and Olympic champion.
A day of new names
Overall, the third day of the championships became a day of breakthrough achievements.
Both champions – Ryuga Tanaka in the men's 73 kg category and Akari Omori in the women's 57 kg division – reached a senior World Championships podium for the first time in their careers and immediately claimed gold.
Rashid Mammadaliyev, Dayyan Boulemtafes, Serbia's Marica Perisic and Croatia's Ana Viktorija Puljiz also won their first senior world medals.
After three competition days, Japan comfortably leads the medal standings with five gold and two bronze medals. Azerbaijan sits second with one gold and one bronze, while Spain is third with two silver and one bronze medals.
The World Championships continue in Baku on October 7 with competition in the men's 81 kg and women's 63 kg categories.
