Would it be Loiq Kudbudinov or Muhammadsoleh Quvatov (TJK), the number one seed, who would reach the final? Everything was still possible for the latter, as he reached the semi-finals. Would it be his teammate Haqdod Gulov or Mehrzod Sufiev (TJK) meeting there? Indeed, the glory was on Sufiev's side as he won his semi-final against Quvatov.
It was clear that Sufiev's opponent in the final would not be Tajik; it was Balabay Aghayev (AZE) who made the biggest impression, defeating all of his opponents of the day. The final pitted Mehrzod Sufiev (TJK) against Balabay Aghayev (AZE).
The final did not turn out the way the host country wanted. It started quite slowly but step by step both judoka increased the pace until Balabay Aghayev dropped under his opponent with a sudden kata-guruma for waza-ari. Keeping the control of the arm, he engaged a juji-gatame that could not be stopped. It was ippon and the fourth gold medal in a grand slam for Balabay Aghayev.
The first bronze medal contest saw Asadbek Misirov (UZB) and Ariunbold Enkhtaivan (MGL) face off. It was not long before Ariunbold Enkhtaivan launched a sutemi-waza to score ippon and take the bronze medal.
Maxime Merlin (FRA) had a strong run in the elimination rounds, giving him a chance of a medal against Muhammadsoleh Quvatov (TJK), but the task looked daunting for the Frenchman. It was an intense contest, with the public supporting Quvatov massively for the first medal chance for the host country. Merlin was not impressed though and after a first confused situation where the video refereeing confirmed that there was no ippon for Quvatov, Merlin scored a first yuko with a tremendous ura-nage. He was then waiting for the right moment and was not afraid to let the Tajik judoka engage with a sumi-gaeshi that he controlled perfectly to pin him down for ippon. That silenced the public which then applauded both judoka with the usual fair play ethos we have come to enjoy in Tajikistan.
Final (-60 kg)
Bronze Medal Fights (-60 kg)
