Unseeded Finalists World Championships: Male Division

There were six unseeded finalists in the male division at the 2022 Tashkent World Championships. In the U60kg division, Mongolia’s Ariunbold Enkhtaivan was a relative unknown, whose best IJF World Tour results were two bronzes. He was a real dark horse.

In the U66kg division, it was no surprise at all that Joshiro Maruyama was a finalist. He performed brilliantly in all his matches leading up to the final, where he faced his teammate and rival, Hifumi Abe

In the U90kg division, Christian Parlati of Italy was a known quantity. He has a very distinct drop ouchi-gari for which is famous for. But he was not a top prospect. He did have a Grand Slam gold to his name. Perhaps fittingly, it was in Tashkent in 2021.

The U100kg division had not one but two unseeded players in the final. Kyle Reyes of Canada has been on the IJF World Tour circuit since 2012 and although he doesn’t have any gold from there, he has four silvers. He is known for his stylish classical judo. His opponent in the final, Muzaffarbek Turoboyev of Uzbekistan, may be a home favorite but was relatively unknown elsewhere. Now, he is World Champion.

The +100kg division featured Japan’s great new hope, Tatsuru Saito, the son of the late judo legend Hitoshi Saito, a double Olympic champion. Though young and without much international experience, Saito was expected to do well.