Grigalashvili wins fourth world judo title in golden-score epic as Kaju retains 63kg crown in Baku

Georgia's Tato Grigalashvili won his fourth world title on Wednesday (7 Oct), beating Azerbaijan's Zelim Tckaev in a gruelling men's 81kg final at the National Gymnastics Arena in Baku. In the women's 63kg, Japan's Haruka Kaju defended her crown with a dominant display on the mat.

Day four marked the halfway point of the 2026 World Judo Championships, which run from 4 to 11 October. Japan's grip on the event remains firm: Kaju's gold was the country's sixth from the eight individual categories decided so far.

A long night for Grigalashvili and Tckaev

The 81kg final was one of the most drawn-out bouts of the week. Regulation time ended with no score and one shido (penalty) apiece, so the contest went to golden score, the sudden-death extra period.

Tension built as the minutes passed. Grigalashvili picked up a second shido early in golden score, which left him one penalty away from losing the final. A possible waza-ari for the Georgian was then ruled out, and soon both men were on two penalties. After roughly ten minutes of total fighting time, Grigalashvili finally caught Tckaev with a counter-attack to settle it.

Grigalashvili was world champion three years in a row, in Tashkent 2022, Doha 2023 and Abu Dhabi 2024, before taking silver in Budapest last year. Baku was his sixth straight world final, and the win puts him back on top of a division he has led for most of this Olympic cycle.

Home crowd still gets two medals

Tckaev's silver came with a loud home crowd behind him, and Azerbaijan had more to cheer in the same category. Omar Rajabli took bronze by beating Kazakhstan's Abylaikhan Zhubanazar, levelling in the final minute and then taking control on the ground. Serbia's Mihajlo Simin won the other bronze against Korea's Lee Joonhwan after equalising with about 20 seconds left.

That gives Azerbaijan one gold, one silver and two bronzes so far. Ahmad Yusifov won the host nation's gold at 60kg on the opening day.

Kaju stretches her unbeaten run to 40

The 63kg final was much shorter. Kaju scored a yuko with seoi-otoshi, then went straight into a hold-down. Israel's Kerem Primo escaped after a few seconds, but Kaju quickly found another position on the ground and held her down for the win.

It was Kaju's second world title in a row, and her unbeaten run on the World Judo Tour now stands at 40 contests. Primo had never reached a world final, or even a World Judo Tour final, before this week.

The bronze medals went to the Czech Republic's Renata Zachova, who beat Hungary's Anna Kriza in golden score after a back-and-forth match, and Mongolia's Enkhriilen Lkhagvatogoo, who beat the Netherlands' Joanne Van Lieshout late in normal time for her third senior world bronze. France's two-time Olympic champion Clarisse Agbegnenou finished seventh.

Japan's run and what comes next

Japan now have six golds from eight categories. Wakana Koga (48kg), Uta Abe (52kg), Hifumi Abe (66kg), Akari Omori (57kg), Ryuga Tanaka (73kg) and Kaju have all won titles, with Yusifov and Grigalashvili the only winners from other countries.

Thursday's day five features the men's 90kg and women's 70kg. Georgia's Paris 2024 Olympic champion Lasha Bekauri is unseeded at 90kg and drawn in the same pool as top seed Sanshiro Murao of Japan. Croatia's Lara Cvjetko is the top seed at 70kg. The 100kg and 78kg events follow on Friday, the heavyweights on Saturday, and the mixed team event closes the championships on Sunday (11 Oct). Baku is four hours behind Malaysia, so the evening finals sessions run late into the night for fans watching in Malaysia.

Key takeaways

• Tato Grigalashvili beat Zelim Tckaev in golden score for his fourth world 81kg title, a year after taking silver.
• Haruka Kaju retained the women's 63kg title, beating first-time finalist Kerem Primo on the ground.
• Kaju's unbeaten World Judo Tour run has reached 40 contests.
• Japan have won six of the eight individual golds so far in Baku.
• Azerbaijan have four medals, including Tckaev's silver and Omar Rajabli's bronze at 81kg.

FAQ When do the 2026 World Judo Championships end? The individual events finish on 10 October and the mixed team event closes the championships on 11 October in Baku. How many world titles does Tato Grigalashvili have? Four. He won in 2022, 2023 and 2024, took silver in 2025, and won again in Baku in 2026. Who won bronze in the women's 63kg? Renata Zachova of the Czech Republic and Enkhriilen Lkhagvatogoo of Mongolia.

Sources: International Judo Federation, JudoInside, Euronews