Yamato Fukuda world champion U60kg

Japan's dominance was clear from the start of the Junior World Championships in Dushanbe, with Yamato Fukuda leading the charge by securing one of the three gold medals for the country on the opening day. In the lightweight category final, Fukuda faced the host nation’s Loiq Kudbudinov. Fukuda wasted no time, immediately attacking with a seoi-otoshi in the first ten seconds. Although Kudbudinov managed to avoid the first score, Fukuda capitalized on the moment and swiftly secured ippon with an immobilization.

This victory gave Japan its first gold of the championships, while the silver won by Kudbudinov was celebrated by the home crowd, who cheered for good judo regardless of nationality.

In another exciting bronze medal match, Jonathan Yang of the USA, the reigning Cadet World Champion, fought Murodil Murodillaev of Uzbekistan. Despite facing pressure from the Uzbek’s strong grips, Yang displayed his usual acrobatic judo, escaping dangerous positions repeatedly. However, with just 45 seconds remaining, Yang’s final seoi-nage attempt was countered by Murodillaev, resulting in ippon for the Uzbek, who claimed the bronze. Yang, who finished fifth, has had an outstanding season, already securing the cadet world title and showing promise for more success in the future.

In the second bronze medal contest, Orynbassar of Kazakhstan took on the top-seeded Imranov of Azerbaijan. Despite Imranov’s ranking, Orynbassar fought valiantly, and after a minute in golden score, he threw Imranov with a perfectly executed tai-otoshi to win Kazakhstan’s first medal of the event. Imranov, left in fifth place, was unable to assert his dominance in this tightly contested match.

For Murodil Murodillaev, this bronze medal is especially significant as it marks his first world-level success outside the Asian continent. With two Asian junior cup medals and a recent Asian Junior Championship win, Murodillaev is quickly rising through the ranks and is likely to become a familiar face on the IJF World Judo Tour in the near future. His performance in Dushanbe signals his readiness for the global stage, and his future in judo looks promising.