Japan continues to lead the World Judo Championships… and praise for Qatar’s organization

Japan was able to stay at the top of the World Judo Championship rankings, at the end of the sixth day, Friday, in the version held in Doha at the Ali bin Hamad Al-Attiyah Hall in Al-Sadd for the first time in Qatar, and it will continue until Sunday with the presence of many champions.

Japan succeeded in winning 10 medals, with 4 golds, two silvers and 4 bronzes, while Georgia ranked second with 4 medals (two golds, one silver and one bronze), and France came third with five medals (one gold, two silvers and two bronzes).

On Friday, the tournament witnessed the crowning of Arman Admian with the under-100 kilogram weight title, under the banner of the neutral flag, in light of the participation of the Russians and Belarusians for the first time in a major international competition since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, after he beat the Czech Lukas Krbalik.

The singles category competitions will be held in 7 weights for men and 7 weights for women, and the championship competitions will continue on Saturday and its seventh day with the holding of weight competitions over 100 kg for men with the participation of 43 players, most notably French Teddy Renner, winner of the gold medals of the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Olympics, and the 10-time world champion.

On the other hand, competitions over 78 kilograms will be held on Saturday for women, led by Frenchwoman Deco Roman, who won the bronze at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the gold at the Tashkent 2022 World Championship.

The tournament is receiving global acclaim, as Algerian Salima Souakry, director of development and member of the Executive Board of the International Judo Federation, said on Friday, in a press conference, that the world championship for the game currently being held in Doha is one of the best tournaments ever.

She added, “The International Federation of the game expressed its great satisfaction with its distinguished conduct and organization. For the first time, the opening ceremony was broadcast live, which will contribute to the advancement of the sport of world judo in general.”