Azerbaijan strikes with second boys gold in Lima

On day three of the Cadet World Championships in Lima, Brazil solidified its lead in the medal standings thanks to a gold medal from Honoka Kimura, while Azerbaijan moved into second place with a gold from Jasur Ibadli. Brazil remained in third place, closely followed by Mongolia, which saw Terbish secure a gold at -57 kg to add to the nation’s two silvers and a bronze. With one day of individual competition left, the final standings remain uncertain.

The afternoon session began with the -57 kg bronze medal contests. Jolina Reinhold of Germany faced Talyana Abdallah of France. Abdallah initially led with a waza-ari from a powerful uchi-mata sukashi, but Reinhold equalized with a makikomi and eventually won in golden score with an uchi-mata for ippon. The second bronze went to Evelina Bosiek (IJF), who overcame Mongolia’s Tsendbazar Mashbat with a strong o-uchi-gari after countering Mashbat’s early attack.

In the -57 kg final, Mongolia’s Terbish stunned the crowd by quickly scoring waza-ari with a seoi-otoshi against France’s Agati-Alouache. Despite a fierce contest, Terbish held her lead, securing Mongolia’s first gold of the championships.

The -73 kg bronze medal contests followed, with Salah and Boue from France battling it out. Boue ultimately claimed victory with a second score after a back-and-forth contest. Uzbekistan’s Bakhodirov won the second bronze by defeating Racka (LTU) with two seoi-otoshi throws, demonstrating his dominance.

The final in the -73 kg division saw Jasur Ibadli of Azerbaijan take on Davidov (IJF). Ibadli opened with a powerful tsuri-goshi, scoring waza-ari, and later secured victory with a decisive ko-soto-gake, earning him the gold medal.

In the -63 kg category, eighth-seeded Maila Pagliaro (ITA) struggled against Poland’s Amelia Ptasinska, who countered a seoi-otoshi perfectly for ippon, winning a bronze medal. Sinem Oruc of Turkey claimed the second bronze with a soto-makikomi victory over Spain’s Lucia Carpio Fernandez, marking Turkey’s first medal of the championships.

In the final, Honoka Kimura (JPN) dominated Poland’s Hanna Zaitseva with relentless attacks and strong transitions, ultimately winning by ippon in golden score to become the new world cadet champion, adding another gold for Japan.

The -81kg division saw Azerbaijan’s Mehdi Abbasov defeat Belgium’s Kenzo Cremer with a ne-waza hold for ippon, securing a bronze medal. Mykhailo Solianyk of Ukraine earned the second bronze by defeating Kazakhstan’s Rassul Mukhum with a soto-makikomi in the final seconds, giving Ukraine their second bronze of the tournament.

The gold medal match in this category featured Ilia Simonov and Abu-Bakr Kantaev, who battled for seven minutes before Kantaev secured the win with a neat combination, leaving Simonov with a well-deserved silver.

As the competition heads into its final day, the medal standings remain highly competitive, with Brazil, Azerbaijan, and Mongolia all vying for the top spots.