Baku’s European challengers step into a crowded world field

The 2026 World Judo Championships in Baku, held from 4 to 11 October, bring a deep group of European contenders into the men’s -60 kg and -66 kg categories. Home support, emerging talent and proven medallists could all shape two divisions led by formidable Japanese opponents.

At -60 kg, Azerbaijan’s Balabay Aghayev arrives in Baku as world No. 1 and carries serious momentum into his home World Championships. His 2026 campaign includes Grand Slam gold in Paris and Ulaanbaatar, plus silver in Tashkent, putting him at the front of a packed European challenge.

Japan’s Ryuju Nagayama is the defending world champion after taking his first senior world title in Budapest in 2025, where he defeated France’s Romain Valadier Picard in the final. Valadier Picard returns after that world silver and sits just behind Azerbaijan’s Ahmad Yusifov in the rankings. Yusifov, world No. 5, has already won in Tashkent this year and earned bronze at the European Championships and in Qingdao.

Israel’s Izhak Ashpiz has been one of 2026’s most striking young performers. Still only 18, he enters as world No. 2 after Grand Slam wins in Tbilisi and Hungary, alongside bronze medals in Paris, Ulaanbaatar and at the European Championships.

Georgia’s Giorgi Sardalashvili adds another major name to the -60 kg picture. The 2024 world champion won the European title in 2025 and took European silver this year. With Georgia located just across Azerbaijan’s western border, the Georgian could have strong backing in Baku.

The -60 kg category brings world champions, home hopes and a teenage world No. 2 into one field.

The -66 kg division presents a different challenge for Europe’s leading athletes, with Japan’s Takeshi Takeoka and Abe Hifumi setting an imposing standard. Takeoka is the defending world champion and world No. 1, having followed his Budapest title with Grand Slam victories in Paris and Ulaanbaatar in 2026. Abe, a four-time world champion and double Olympic champion, has won both of his international events this year and is seeded fifth.

Russia’s Ramazan Abdulaev is the highest-ranked European at world No. 3. Although he has not won a World Judo Tour event in 2026, his consistency has been clear through silver in Ulaanbaatar and bronze medals in Tbilisi, Kazakhstan and Lausanne. His compatriot Murad Chopanov comes to Baku as the 2026 European champion.

Azerbaijan’s Ruslan Pashayev opened his year with Paris bronze before winning the Upper Austria Grand Prix. A first senior world medal on home tatami would be a major moment. Finland’s Luukas Saha, a world bronze medallist in 2024, also arrives after claiming European silver this year, while Moldova’s Denis Vieru brings Olympic bronze-medal experience following silver in Lima and bronze in Hungary.

In Baku, Europe’s -66 kg contenders will need their best Judo against Japan’s elite.

Source: EJU.net

Image source: EJU / European Judo Union