The day was fully packed with excitement, surprises, and heart-stopping moments as the men’s 60 kg and women’s 48 kg categories took centre stage on the opening day of judo competitions in the Paris 2024 Olympics, earlier today, 27th July.
For the lovers of the sport from every corner of the world, the day at Champ-de-Mars Arena started with exciting preliminary matches and ended with thrilling medal matches filled with tension.
Men’s 60kg: Unexpected Turns and a New Champion Crowned
Coming into the tournament as current world number one and top seed, Yung Wei Yang of Chinese Taipei had high hopes of claiming gold. Looking sharp to start, as he defeated Andrea Carlino of Italy, Yang would go up against the 2015 world champion, Yeldos Smetov of Qazaqstan, in the quarter-finals. In one of the day’s major upsets, Smetov bested Yang, ending his hopes for Olympic gold.
It turned out to be nothing less than a fantastic journey for Smetov. Having beaten Tornike Tsjakadoea of the Netherlands and Dilshot Khalmatov of Ukraine in the earlier rounds, victory over Yang of Chinese Taipei set things up for an exciting semi-final against the reigning 2023 world champion and new European champion Francisco Garrigos of Spain.
While the other half of the draw featured one of the most unlikely underdogs, Salih Yildiz of Turkey, sending the reigning world champion Giorgi Sardalashvili out to book his spot in the semis, home crowd favourite Luka Mkheidze produced a faultless display against Won Jin Kim of Korea to join Yildiz in the semi-finals.
The semi-finals were a well-balanced mixture of tension and skills: Smetov edged past Garrigos in an extremely tightly-contested bout, while Mkheidze outmanoeuvred Yildiz to make sure that the Qazaqh and the Frenchman faced off in the final.
Mkheidze looked set for the final win, keeping Smetov behind with two penalties, but the experience of Smetov shone through, and he managed to get that waza-ari on his name to seal the gold and first-ever Olympic title nine years after being world champion. Mkheidze, despite trying so hard, had to be content with the silver.
Equally if not more exciting were the bronze medal contests. Ryuju Nagayama of Japan, known for his explosive techniques, defeated Yildiz with two well-executed waza-aris, securing his first Olympic medal. On the other end, Garrigos and Sardalashvili engaged in a nail-biting match that went into golden score. Finally, Garrigos found the opening with a yoko-tomoe-nage for a waza-ari and his first Olympic bronze medal.
Men -60 kg Results on Day 1
| Winner | Score | Loser |
| Elimination Round of 32 | ||
| Andrea CARLINO (Italy) | 1-0 | Joshua KATZ (Australia) |
| Dilshot KHALMATOV (Ukraine) | 1-0 | Doston RUZIEV (Uzbekistan) |
| Yeldos SMETOV (Kazakhstan) | 10-0 | Tornike TSJAKADOEA (Netherlands) |
| Jorre VERSTRAETEN (Belgium) | 1-0 | Jairo MORENO (El Salvador) |
| Michel AUGUSTO (Brazil) | 1-0 | Sebastian SANCHO (Costa Rica) |
| Yam WOLCZAK (Israel) | 10-0 | Arnold KISOKA (DR Congo) |
| Ashley McKENZIE (Jamaica) | 1-0 | Hesham MAKABR (Yemen) |
| Ariunbold ENKHTAIVAN (Mongolia) | 10-0 | Youssry SAMY (Egypt) |
| KIM Won Jin (South Korea) | 10-0 | Simon ZULU (Zambia) |
| Elimination Round of 16 | ||
| YANG Yung Wei (Chinese Taipei) | 10-1 | Andrea CARLINO (Italy) |
| Yeldos SMETOV (Kazakhstan) | 1-0 | Dilshot KHALMATOV (Ukraine) |
| Francisco GARRIGOS (Spain) | 1-0 | Jorre VERSTRAETEN (Belgium) |
| NAGAYAMA Ryuju (Japan) | 10-0 | Michel AUGUSTO (Brazil) |
| Giorgi SARDALASHVILI (Georgia) | 11-0 | Yam WOLCZAK (Israel) |
| Salih YILDIZ (Turkey) | 1-0 | Ashley McKENZIE (Jamaica) |
| Luka MKHEIDZE (France) | 10-0 | Ariunbold ENKHTAIVAN (Mongolia) |
| KIM Won Jin (South Korea) | 10-0 | Balabay AGHAYEV (Azerbaijan) |
| Quarter-final | ||
| Yeldos SMETOV (Kazakhstan) | 1-0 | YANG Yung Wei (Chinese Taipei) |
| Francisco GARRIGOS (Spain) | 10-0 | NAGAYAMA Ryuju (Japan) |
| Salih YILDIZ (Turkey) | 1-0 | Giorgi SARDALASHVILI (Georgia) |
| Luka MKHEIDZE (France) | 1-0 | KIM Won Jin (South Korea) |
| Men -60 kg Repechage | ||
| NAGAYAMA Ryuju (Japan) | 1-0 | YANG Yung Wei (Chinese Taipei) |
| Giorgi SARDALASHVILI (Georgia) | 10-0 | KIM Won Jin (South Korea) |
| Men -60 kg Semi-final | ||
| Luka MKHEIDZE (France) | 1-0 | Salih YILDIZ (Turkey) |
| Yeldos SMETOV (Kazakhstan) | 10-0 | Francisco GARRIGOS (Spain) |
| Men -60 kg Bronze Medal | ||
| NAGAYAMA Ryuju (Japan) | 10-0 | Salih YILDIZ (Turkey) |
| Francisco GARRIGOS (Spain) | 1-0 | Giorgi SARDALASHVILI (Georgia) |
| Men -60 kg Gold Medal | ||
| Yeldos SMETOV (Kazakhstan) | 1-0 | Luka MKHEIDZE (France) |
Women’s 48kg: A Star is Born and Heartbreak for the Underdog
The women’s 48kg category was a highlight of the first day, bringing a mix of high-level competition and emotional moments. Natsumi Tsunoda of Japan came into the competition as a clear favourite, and it’s no surprise why, she’s a three-time world champion.
However, her path into the final was not without its problems- especially the semi-final bout against Sweden’s Tara Babulfath, who is only 18-years-old. Having overcome the current world number one, Assunta Scutto of Italy, in the quarterf-inals, Babulfath was already creating headlines in the Olympic judo competition. Babulfath’s Aggressive de-ashi-barai and solid ne-waza skills saw her advance into the semi-finals at the expense of an overwhelmed Scutto.
On the other side of the draw, Mongolia’s Bavuudorj Baasankhuu asserted her dominance over opponents, including surprise quarter-finalist Gabriela Narvaez of Paraguay. Narvaez, who had earlier sent shockwaves in the judo world by defeating 6th seed Catarina Costa of Portugal in golden score, could not overcome the relentless attacks by Bavuudorj and eventually lost in the quarter-final match. Narvaez’s run finally ended in the repechage round when she was held for ippon by Qazaqhstan’s Abuzhakynova, finishing 7th overall, an impressive feat for the Paraguayan judoka!
The final match was a gripping showdown between Tsunoda and Bavuudorj. With her reputation for precision and being calm under
pressure, Tsunoda executed a nicely timed tomoe-nage for a waza-ari, which won her the gold medal. Till the final, Bavuudorj had an impressive run throughout the day, but in the end she had to settle for silver.
The bronze medal matches pitted France’s Shirine Boukli against Spain’s Laura Martinez Abelenda. With the crowd solidly behind her, Boukli launched an o-soto-gari for a waza-ari in golden score to seal the first bronze for France. The second bronze was taken by young sensationalist Babulfath from Sweden, who held down Abuzhakynova to win the country its very first Olympic medal in judo.
| Winner | Score | Loser |
| Elimination Round of 32 | ||
| Maria Celia LABORDE (USA) | 10-0 | GUO Zongying (China) |
| Tara BABULFATH (Sweden) | 10-0 | LEE Hyekyeong (South Korea) |
| Khalimajon KURBONOVA (Uzbekistan) | 1-0 | Leyla ALIYEVA (Azerbaijan) |
| TSUNODA Natsumi (Japan) | 11-0 | Natasha FERREIRA (Brazil) |
| Geronay WHITEBOOI (South Africa) | 10-Jan | Jacqueline SOLIS (Guatemala) |
| Shirine BOUKLI (France) | 10-0 | Tugce BEDER (Turkey) |
| Oumaima BEDIOUI (Tunisia) | 1-0 | Thi Tinh HOANG (Vietnam) |
| Baasankhuu BAVUUDORJ (Mongolia) | 10-0 | Katryna ESPOSITO (Malta) |
| Katharina TANZER (Austria) | 10-0 | WONG Ka Lee (Hong Kong) |
| Catarina COSTA (Portugal) | 1-0 | Katharina MENZ (Germany) |
| Gabriela NARVAEZ (Paraguay) | 11-0 | Virginia AYMARD (Gabon) |
| Elimination Round of 16 | ||
| Assunta SCUTTO (Italy) | 10-0 | Maria Celia LABORDE (USA) |
| Tara BABULFATH (Sweden) | 10-0 | Khalimajon KURBONOVA (Uzbekistan) |
| TSUNODA Natsumi (Japan) | 11-0 | Geronay WHITEBOOI (South Africa) |
| Shirine BOUKLI (France) | 10-0 | Oumaima BEDIOUI (Tunisia) |
| Baasankhuu BAVUUDORJ (Mongolia) | 10-0 | Katharina TANZER (Austria) |
| Gabriela NARVAEZ (Paraguay) | 10-0 | Catarina COSTA (Portugal) |
| Abiba ABUZHAKYNOVA (Kazakhstan) | 10-0 | LIN Chen-Hao (Chinese Taipei) |
| Laura MARTINEZ ABELENDA (Spain) | 10-0 | Milica NIKOLIC (Serbia) |
| Quarter-final | ||
| Tara BABULFATH (Sweden) | 10-0 | Assunta SCUTTO (Italy) |
| TSUNODA Natsumi (Japan) | 10-0 | Shirine BOUKLI (France) |
| Baasankhuu BAVUUDORJ (Mongolia) | 10-0 | Gabriela NARVAEZ (Paraguay) |
| Laura MARTINEZ ABELENDA (Spain) | 10-0 | Abiba ABUZHAKYNOVA (Kazakhstan) |
| Women -48 kg Repechage | ||
| Shirine BOUKLI (France) | 1-0 | Assunta SCUTTO (Italy) |
| Abiba ABUZHAKYNOVA (Kazakhstan) | 10-0 | Gabriela NARVAEZ (Paraguay) |
| Women -48 kg Semi-final | ||
| Baasankhuu BAVUUDORJ (Mongolia) | 10-0 | Laura MARTINEZ ABELENDA (Spain) |
| TSUNODA Natsumi (Japan) | 10-0 | Tara BABULFATH (Sweden) |
| Women -48 kg Bronze Medal | ||
| Shirine BOUKLI (France) | 1-0 | Laura MARTINEZ ABELENDA (Spain) |
| Tara BABULFATH (Sweden) | 10-0 | Abiba ABUZHAKYNOVA (Kazakhstan) |
| Women -48 kg Gold Medal | ||
| TSUNODA Natsumi (Japan) | 1-0 | Baasankhuu BAVUUDORJ (Mongolia) |
Gabriela Narvaez’s Remarkable Journey in the Women’s 48kg
The women’s 48kg category saw Gabriela Narvaez of Paraguay as the sole representative of her country in judo. Qualifying for the Olympics through the continental quota system, she was all set to go.
She started the day off with a win against Aymard of Gabon, then went on to cause one of the biggest upsets of the day, throttling eight-time Grand Slam medallist Catarina Costa of Portugal for ippon in the round of 16.
Narvaez’s fairy tale run came to an end in the quarter-finals against the tough Bavuudorj of Mongolia, who simply wore her down with relentless attacks. After losing the repechage to Abuzhakynova of Qazaqstan, Narvaez eventually ended up with a 7th place that became a big deal for herself and her country, making her a national hero.
A Day to Remember
Day 1 of judo at Paris 2024 was an emotional rollercoaster, from the dramatic upsets in the men’s 60 kg preliminaries to the deeply inspiring story of Gabriela Narvaez, it was a day that underlined the great unpredictability of judo.
So much so that the triumph of Smetov and heartbreak of those who came close will remain etched in the memories of fans and athletes alike, proof once more why the Olympics stand as the pinnacle of sport.
