Japan strikes back with three extra junior world champions

The Junior Judo World Championships in Guayaquil ended with Japan on top of the world with 6 gold medals, while France, who was far lower in the ranking, overtook everyone but Japan on the finish line and finished second. On Sunday the mixed team tournament will take place.

This last day of the weight categories was therefore eagerly awaited. The Japanese wanted to erase the blank page of the day before and the French wanted their first gold medal, while the other delegations also wanted their share of the pie. Many were satisfied, including the Japanese present in the four finals of the day and the French who, thanks to their explosive judoka Kenny Liveze, won the title at U100kg.

It must be said that Liveze gave a demonstration of power and technique, particularly in the final where he did not give Nakano the slightest chance to express himself by sticking a tatami on his back in a few handfuls of seconds. Judo is like that, sometimes it only takes a fraction of a second for everything to be over. Kenny Liveze defeated Tomohiro Nakano.

At +78kg we could expect an unbalanced final, in terms of size and if it was, it was in terms of technical capacity, as Arai's demonstration was so clear. This too is the judo we love.

The other women's division, the U78kg, was also dominated by Japanese Aki Kuroda where there favourites went out quickly.

Last but not least, the men's heavyweight division also went to Japan, which claimed an almost full day, since the only final lost was the +100kg one. Yuta Nakamura defeated Cruz Leon Omar of Cuba in a tough fight in the golden score.