The Land of Fire and Judo: Inside Baku's World Championships

The National Gymnastics Arena in Baku is not a typical judo venue. It is a vast, modern structure built for spectacle, and on Sunday night, it was filled to capacity. When Ahmad Yusifov stepped onto the tatami for the men's -60kg final, the noise was overwhelming — a wall of sound from a home crowd that has been waiting for this moment since the last World Championships were held here in 2018.

Yusifov, a local favourite, was not even the highest-ranked Azerbaijani in his category. That distinction belonged to world number one Balabay Aghayev, who made a shock early exit. But Yusifov seized his opportunity with both hands. He dispatched Russia's Ayub Bliev in the quarter-final and Olympic silver medallist Yung Wei Yang in the semi-final to reach the gold-medal contest. There, against Kazakhstan's Sherzod Davlatov, he found himself a waza-ari down with time running out. What followed was a comeback that will be replayed in Azerbaijan for years: a decisive waza-ari of his own, followed by ten seconds of osaekomi that completed the turnaround and sent the arena into raptures.

He became Azerbaijan's first U60kg world champion and only the fourth Azerbaijani man to win an individual senior world title.

But this championship is not just about the athletes. It is about a country that has invested heavily in judo, and the key figures who have made it happen. President Ilham Aliyev, whose attendance at the opening ceremony was widely covered in state media, has been the driving force behind Azerbaijan's sporting ambitions. Azerbaijan Judo Federation President Rashad Nabiyev spoke at the opening ceremony of judo as "not only a contest on the tatami, it is a philosophy of respect, discipline, courage and friendship." And IJF President Marius Vizer, re-elected for a sixth term in 2025, has overseen the federation's expansion into new markets while maintaining its traditional strongholds.

Yet behind the pageantry, there is tension. The scheduling of this World Championships has caused significant disruption. The IJF abruptly changed the dates from mid-July to October, placing the tournament directly after the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, which concluded on October 3. Japanese judo officials expressed frustration that top athletes like Hifumi and Uta Abe were forced to choose between the Asian Games and the World Championships. "It's completely that the Asian Judo Union is being looked down on," one Japanese federation official told Tokyo Sports.

The calendar clash is a reminder that judo, like all Olympic sports, is navigating a complex landscape of competing interests. The World Championships offer crucial ranking points for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics, but the Asian Games are a continental showcase with their own prestige. For smaller nations, the choice is even starker.

The mixed team event, which closes the championships on October 11, will be another test. Georgia returns as defending champions, and the team competition has become one of the most anticipated days of the judo calendar. It is a format that rewards depth and unity — values that the IJF has been keen to promote as the sport expands its global footprint.

As the week unfolds, the focus will shift from Yusifov's heroics to the other categories. Clarisse Agbegnenou, the seven-time world champion and new mother, is back on the tatami at -63kg, chasing yet another title. The Abe siblings, Hifumi and Uta, have already delivered gold on day two, with Uta extending her unbeaten record at World Championships to six titles.

But for Baku, the defining image of this tournament may remain Yusifov on his knees, arms raised, the crowd on its feet. It is a reminder that world championships are not just about medals. They are about moments — and about nations that use sport to announce themselves to the world.

Written by Martina Kirchner martina.kirchner@alpineweekly.com