For four days, the host nation welcomes Asia’s leading judo programmes to Nagoya, where individual titles will be awarded across the fourteen Olympic weight categories before the mixed team event concludes the competition on Saturday. Japan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, the Republic of Korea, China and Tajikistan are all represented by strong delegations, ensuring a field of remarkable depth from the opening contests.
The Asian Games hold a particular place in the calendar. They are not simply another international tournament, but an opportunity for the continent’s judoka to compete beneath their national flags in the wider setting of a multi-sport celebration. In the country where judo was born, the symbolism is even stronger. The opening day offered four categories and four distinct stories, while confirming the quality and diversity of Asian judo.
Japan made an immediate impression. In the men’s -60kg category, Hayato Kondo won gold in front of the home crowd. Kazakhstan’s Yeldos Smetov, Olympic champion and one of the most recognisable names in the category, claimed silver. Uzbekistan’s Samariddin Kuchkarov and China’s Ma Yulin completed the podium with bronze medals.
The men’s -66kg category brought Mongolia its first title of the competition, as Yolk Kazirbyek stood at the top of the podium. Uzbekistan continued its powerful start through Abdurakhim Nutfullœv, who took silver, while Xue Ziyang of China and Sukhrob Boqiev of Bahrain earned bronze.
The host nation celebrated a second gold in the women’s -48kg category, where Mitsuki Kondo delivered a decisive performance. Abiba Abuzhakynova of Kazakhstan took silver, while Narantsetseg Ganbaatar of Mongolia and Akhliya Muminova of Tajikistan shared the bronze medals.
Uzbekistan responded in the women’s -52kg category. Sita Kadamboeva claimed gold, ahead of Jang Seyun of the Republic of Korea. Japan’s Kokoro Fujishiro and China’s Xu Aoyu each won bronze.
After the opening day, Japan leads the medal table with two gold medals. Uzbekistan and Mongolia have each secured one title, while Kazakhstan, China, Tajikistan, the Republic of Korea and Bahrain have also already appeared on the podium.
The competition resumes on Thursday with the men’s -73kg and -81kg categories, alongside the women’s -57kg, -63kg and -70kg divisions. With five medal events on the programme, the second day promises to deepen an already compelling Asian Games judo story.