Japan asserted its supremacy on the opening day of the Junior World Judo Championships 2025 in Lima, capturing three of the five gold medals on offer. Brazil and Georgia claimed the remaining two. Europe’s lone triumph came courtesy of Tornike Gigauri (GEO), who stormed to victory in a dramatic style in the men’s -66kg category.
The 19-year-old Georgian judoka fought his way through five contests en route to gold. He first dispatched Akylzhan Zhubatkanov (KAZ), Simas Polikevicius (LTU), and Dilshodbek Hamroyev (UZB), before meeting Nizami Imranov (AZE) in the semi-finals. Imranov was the first opponent to score against Gigauri and appeared to have thrown him for a debatable ippon just 90 seconds into the contest. After review, the score was adjusted to a waza-ari for Imranov, who soon added a yuko to extend his lead. That was the wake-up call Gigauri needed, within 30 seconds, using his exceptional te-waza skills, he turned the bout on its head with a stunning ippon.
In the final, Gigauri faced Abdullakh Parchiev (IJF). Parchiev struck first, taking a yuko lead within the opening 14 seconds. The Georgian quickly levelled the score, but Parchiev came back again, adding a waza-ari to regain control. Undeterred, Gigauri rose to the occasion once more, launching a perfectly timed o-uchi-gari to seal victory with ippon just a minute and a half later. Relief and disbelief were written all over his face as he became the Junior World Champion 2025, an extraordinary achievement for an unseeded competitor.
Europe secured an additional five medals on day one, two silver and three bronze. Day two will feature the men’s -73kg and -81kg, and the women’s -63kg and -70kg categories. Watch all the action live on JudoTV.com.
Images: IJF / Tamara Kulumbegashvili
Author: Szandra Szogedi