Sanshiro Murao retains world judo 90kg title in Baku as Ai Tsunoda Roustant takes 70kg gold

Japan's Sanshiro Murao is a world judo champion for the second year running after he beat team-mate Goki Tajima by ippon in the men's 90kg final at the National Gymnastics Arena in Baku on Thursday, 8 October. On the same evening Spain's Ai Tsunoda Roustant claimed her first senior world title in the women's 70kg division, edging Austria's Michaela Polleres in a long, tense final settled on penalties. Day five of the 2026 World Judo Championships follows earlier sessions that crowned Japan's Abe siblings and Georgia's Tato Grigalashvili.

Murao ends the Bekauri hoodoo, then finishes the job

The 26-year-old Murao, the top seed, set the tone in the morning session. He was drawn early against Georgia's Lasha Bekauri, the two-time Olympic champion who had beaten him five times before. This time the contest lasted only 22 seconds, according to JudoInside, with Murao winning to end that losing run. He then got past France's Maxime-Gael Ngayap Hambou in the semi-final.

The final against seventh seed Tajima was a repeat of last year's title match in Budapest. Murao countered an attack for a waza-ari and later finished the bout with ko-soto-gari for ippon. Tajima, the 2024 world champion, settled for silver. Japan has now won three straight world titles at 90kg: Tajima in 2024 and Murao in 2025 and 2026. Before that run, the last Japanese man to win the weight was Hiroshi Izumi in Cairo in 2005.

Murao told the IJF that the plan against Bekauri had been carefully prepared, but that the world title had always been the real goal.

Home crowd celebrates a record bronze

The bronze medals went to Azerbaijan's Murad Fatiyev and Serbia's Boris Rutovic. Fatiyev, beaten by Tajima in the semi-final, won a long golden-score contest against Serbia's Nemanja Majdov with a sumi-gaeshi counter. The IJF said the medal was Azerbaijan's fifth of the championships, a new national best at a world championships. Rutovic took the other bronze when Ngayap Hambou was given a third shido in golden score.

Tsunoda Roustant outlasts Polleres

The women's 70kg event was full of early surprises. Croatia's top seed Lara Cvjetko lost to Sanne van Dijke, Japan's third seed Shiho Tanaka went out to Germany's Giovanna Scoccimarro, and second seed Aoife Coughlan of Australia was eliminated by Polleres.

The final between Tsunoda Roustant and Polleres turned into a tactical grip battle. Neither woman managed a score, and the decisive third penalty went to Polleres after more than seven minutes of fighting. The result gave Spain gold to add to the two silvers and a bronze it had already collected in Baku. Polleres, a double Olympic medallist, still made history as Austria's first world championship finalist since Ludwig Paischer's silver in 2005.

Bronze medals went to Germany's Scoccimarro, who won Germany's first medal of the week, and to Madina Taimazova, her second senior world bronze.

What is still to come in Baku

The championships run until Sunday, 11 October. Friday's session (9 October) features the men's 100kg and women's 78kg categories, with the heavyweights (+100kg and +78kg) on Saturday and the mixed team event closing the programme on Sunday. Baku is four hours behind Malaysia, so the evening final blocks fall late at night Malaysian time. The International Judo Federation streams the event on its JudoTV platform.

Key takeaways

• Sanshiro Murao beat Goki Tajima by ippon to retain the men's 90kg world title on 8 October.
• Murao ended a five-fight losing run against Lasha Bekauri with a 22-second win earlier in the day.
• Ai Tsunoda Roustant won Spain's 70kg gold after Michaela Polleres picked up a third penalty in the final.
• Azerbaijan's Murad Fatiyev took bronze, the host nation's fifth medal and a national record at a world championships.
• The 100kg and 78kg titles are decided on Friday, 9 October, with the event ending on Sunday.

FAQ

Who won the men's 90kg title at the 2026 World Judo Championships? Sanshiro Murao of Japan, who beat compatriot Goki Tajima in the final to win the title for the second year in a row.

How did Ai Tsunoda Roustant win the women's 70kg final? Neither she nor Michaela Polleres scored, and the contest was decided when Polleres received a third penalty after more than seven minutes.

When do the 2026 World Judo Championships finish? The event ends on Sunday, 11 October, with the mixed team competition after the heavyweight finals on Saturday.

Sources: International Judo Federation (IJF.org), JudoInside, Wikipedia