The Junior World Championships 2018 will introduce a new generation of future IJF World Judo Tour stars as the finest young judoka on the planet are set for five days of competition in the Bahamas’ capital city of Nassau.
The u21 competition has attracted 427 judoka (241 men and 186 women) and 67 nations to the Caribbean island with 16 individual world champions set to be crowned and with one nation set to become Junior World Mixed Team Champions on Sunday, the fifth and final day of action in the Bahamas.
All 67 delegations were in attendance at Tuesday’s draw in the Atlantis Paradise Island Bahamas which also hosts the competition for the remainder of the week.
IJF President Mr. Marius L. VIZER (centre - left) made the opening address on behalf of the International Judo Federation on the eve of the competition.
“Dear President RAHMING, dear guests, dear colleagues, it’s great to have our Junior Worlds this year in such a wonderful location. I’m very pleased to see former champions here as coaches and officials preparing the next generation of judoka. We hope these championships will be very successful and will build on the success of the Youth Olympic Games judo event which took place in Buenos Aires, Argentina. “The Cancun Grand Prix was a difficult event and now we turn our attention to the Junior World Championships here in the Caribbean. We hope you can enjoy the weather and the sun. I wish you nice days and all the best for your judoka.”
Mr. D'Arcy RAHMING (far right) Bahamas Judo Federation President, said: “Good afternoon to you all, it’s a pleasure to see you all here. I would personally like to thank President VIZER, who once said to me, ‘D’Arcy, decide if you are a judo man or philosopher’, I am a judo man, thank you everyone and good luck to you all.”
Mr. Wellington MILLER (centre - left), chairman of the local organising committee, said: “Dear Mr. President, Mr. VIZER, we are very proud to have 67 countries here. We are so happy you are here to share this special event and we are now hosting major international sporting events here in the Bahamas. We’re delighted to have you here and we know your athletes will make you proud. We hope you will indulge in the local cuisine and take time to enjoy the Bahamas, thank you very much and I’m happy you are here.”
Following the individual draw, the stage was set for the mixed team draw with seven nations registered. Countries are required to have one judoka in each of the mixed team weights to be eligible to participate.
Top seeds Japan will be in action along with France, Georgia, Russia, Brazil, Germany and Kazakhstan. The team competition will start with the -90kg category in round one as drawn by Germany’s Atlanta 1996 Olympic champion Udo QUELLMALZ who is in the Bahamas as an IJF Referee Supervisor.
Mr. Juan Carlos BARCOS, IJF Head Referee Director, said: “Mr. President, dear judo friends, I kindly ask for you to pay particular attention this week to the coaching procedure. This is fundamental for the image of our sport, to respect this procedure, at start of fight with a bow and at the end. This is good for the image for judo and I thank you in advance for your efforts in this regard.”
Ukranian wonderkid Daria BILODID will be in action on day one in Nassau. The 18-year-old was crowned senior world champion in the -48kg category in Baku last month and steps down an age group for the junior showpiece event as she chases back-to-back world titles in successive competitions.
BILODID, 18, who will be wearing her red backpatch for the first time, has won her last seven events and is undefeated since August 2017.
Japan will, as expected, provide major firepower in the Bahamas with a 20-strong team primed to tackle the individual event.
Judo fans will finally get to see Japan’s latest heavyweight hope SAITO Tatsuru in an IJF setting. SAITO, 16, is the son of the late, great, IJF Hall of Famer SAITO Hitoshi who won Olympic gold in 1984 and 1988. Tatsuru will also compete in the upcoming Kodokan Cup competition in Japan which could see him earn a spot in November’s Osaka Grand Slam which is a must to become a real candidate for Tokyo 2020. The 6ft 2in heavyweight weighs 155kg and will compete on Saturday when he will be the favourite despite being one of the youngest judoka in the competition.
SAITO Tatsuru is not the only son of a legendary Japanese judoka who has made the trip to the Caribbean. KOGA Genki, 19, the son of 1992 Olympic champion and three-time world champion KOGA Toshihiko, will contest the -60kg category on day one. The teenager won the Cadet World Championships in 2015 and took bronze at the Junior World Championships last year.
Watch all five days of the Junior World Championships 2018 live and free on the IJF website at live.ijf.org
COMPETITION PROGRAMME
Wednesday 17 October 11:00 Preliminaries on three mats 16:00 Final block Junior Women: -44kg, -48kg Junior Men: -55kg, -60kg
Thursday 18 October 10:30 Opening ceremony 11:00 Preliminaries on three mats 16:00 Final block Junior Women: -52kg, -57kg Junior Men: -66kg, -73kg
Friday 19 October 11:00 Preliminaries on three mats 16:00 Final block
Junior Women: -63kg, -70kg Junior Men: -81kg, -90kg
Saturday 20 October 13:00 Preliminaries on three mats 16:00 Final block
Junior Women: -78kg, +78kg Junior Men: -100kg, +100kg
Sunday - 21 October Mixed Team Competition 13:00 Preliminaries on three mats 16:00 Final block
Location: Imperial Ballroom, Atlantis Paradise Island Bahamas