Aghayev and Takeoka Set the Men's Lightweight Tone in Ulaanbaatar

Ulaanbaatar's first men's lightweight finals gave the Olympic qualification period a sharp opening edge. In -60 kg, Balabay Aghayev turned a loaded draw into a controlled gold-medal run, finishing the day against Ryuju Nagayama. One category later, Takeshi Takeoka answered with the same kind of authority in -66 kg, closing a final that had been shaped all day by Ramazan Abdulaev's ground threat.

Aghayev's win came through patience as much as attack. The final brought together two very different rhythms, with Nagayama carrying his relaxed throwing danger into the contest and Aghayev refusing to let it become open chaos. A sumi-gaeshi score gave the Azerbaijani judoka the edge, and he managed the remaining pressure to protect the lead and take gold.

The -66 kg story had a different texture. Abdulaev had been dangerous in ne-waza throughout the day, finding armlock and hold-down solutions before reaching the final. Takeoka, though, kept the match upright and under control. His key moment came from a sharply timed kata-guruma, after which Abdulaev never truly found the same danger that had carried him through the draw.

Around the two finals, the podiums added depth to the picture. Sukhbat Byambasuren gave Mongolia a home bronze in -60 kg, while Izhak Ashpiz added another Grand Slam medal. In -66 kg, Nizami Imranov claimed bronze for Azerbaijan and Channyeong Kim edged David Garcia Torne in a tactical bronze contest. Together, Aghayev and Takeoka made the lighter men's categories feel like an early statement rather than a quiet opening act.

Sources: IJF source 1 · IJF source 2