Polish cadet team amazes with six medals and world title

The final day of the Cadet World Championships in Lima saw intense competition across the remaining weight categories, with strong performances from several nations. Japan emerged as the top nation on the medal table, just ahead of Azerbaijan, France, and Brazil.

In the women's U70kg final, Lucie Rullier (FRA) claimed France's first gold in Lima, defeating Croatia's Nika Slacek with an impressive ashi-guruma for ippon. Earlier in the day, Nadie Jaafar (BUL) and Nina Muteba (FRA) contested a bronze medal, with Muteba emerging victorious after Jaafar accumulated penalties in golden score. The second bronze went to Xanne Van Lijf (NED), who overcame Ukraine's Oliinyk-Korniiko in a long, hard-fought match, securing her medal with a hold down.

The men's -90 kg category saw dramatic contests as Arkadii Samoilov (UKR) and Jabiyev (SWE) battled for a bronze. Samoilov initially led with a waza-ari from an o-uchi-gari, but Jabiyev leveled the score with a ko-uchi-gari and then secured Sweden's first medal with a de-ashi-harai to seoi-otoshi combination in golden score. The second bronze went to France’s Sonntag, who quickly dispatched Georgia’s Gelashvili with a ko-uchi for ippon.

The final in this category saw Sanzhar Yerulanuly (KAZ) take on Dmytro Lebid (UKR). Yerulanuly's strong ne-waza skills led to an armlock attempt early in the match, and although Lebid initially escaped, Yerulanuly eventually secured a hold down for ippon, earning Kazakhstan’s first medal of the tournament, a prestigious gold.

In the women's +70kg division, Kristyna Kaszperova (CZE) claimed a bronze by catching France’s Emma Feuillet-Nguimgo off guard with a massive uchi-mata. The second bronze went to Estonia’s Emma-Melis Aktas, who threw and held Brazil’s Gabriele Silva for the win.

The final match in this division featured the top two cadet judokas, Banaszewska (POL) and Leonie Minkada-Caquineau (FRA). In a closely contested bout, Banaszewska countered Minkada-Caquineau in the final seconds for waza-ari, securing Poland’s first gold of the tournament.

In the last individual category, the men’s +90kg division, Da Costa (FRA) faced Georgia’s Kobaladze in a bronze medal match. Kobaladze secured the medal with a strong seoi-otoshi followed by a fast makikomi. The second bronze was won by Kevin Nzuzi Diasivi (FRA), who defeated Japan’s Kiyomu Miki with a well-executed seoi-otoshi.

The final match of the day saw Marek Adrian Masak (EST) take on Rustem Kadzaev (IJF) for the +90kg crown. Kadzaev dominated the contest, scoring first with an o-uchi-gari and applying continuous pressure until Masak accumulated three penalties, giving Kadzaev the world championship title.

After four days of intense competition, Japan topped the overall medal standings, narrowly beating Azerbaijan, with France and Brazil also performing strongly. The championships highlighted emerging talent and showcased the future stars of judo.