Kazakh judoka Abylaikhan Zhubanazar, competing in the up to 81 kilogram weight category, explained his ippon defeat in the bronze medal match at the 2026 World Championship in Baku by insufficient preparation for the tournament and a tactical mistake, the Sports Development Directorate reported. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.
In the bout for third place, the Kazakh lost to Azerbaijan's Omar Rajabli.
Insufficient preparation
Zhubanazar stated that he could not fully prepare for the current world championship, which is why all the bouts he fought on the tatami were very hard for him.
The athlete noted that his opponent came to the small finals in excellent shape, while the Kazakh wrestler himself made a small mistake, which led to the early defeat.
Results in Baku
According to the results of the competitions in Baku, Zhubanazar took an overall fifth place. Earlier, on the way to the semifinal, he defeated the decorated South Korean athlete Lee Yong Hwan, but then lost to another Azerbaijani judoka, Zelim Tckaev.
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Earlier, Kursiv wrote that Kazakh judoka Abylaikhan Zhubanazar was left without a medal at the World Championship in Baku.
About the championship
The World Judo Championship is being held in Baku (Azerbaijan) from October 4 to 11 with the participation of 622 athletes from 93 countries. Kazakhstan's national team is represented by 15 athletes.