In 2026 alone, she has already won in Tbilisi and Ulaanbaatar. Will anyone be able to disrupt the Kaju machine? Her quarter-final could bring her up against Gankhaich Bold (MGL), while a semi-final meeting with Joanne van Lieshout (NED) is also possible, the Dutch judoka aiming to reclaim the world title she won in 2024.
Yet nothing is certain. France holds some major cards at -63 kg. Manon Deketer is in Van Lieshout’s quarter, while Clarisse Agbegnenou is pursuing a seventh world title. Currently ranked 38th in the world after giving birth to her second child, the French champion has already shown that she is back at her best, winning bronze in Lausanne at the end of August. That achievement alone was remarkable. A place on the world podium would be phenomenal.
Among the other leading contenders, Enkhriilen Lkhagvatogoo (MGL), Laura Fazliu (KOS) and Angelika Szymanska (POL) have all arrived in Baku with medal ambitions. Rafaela Silva (BRA), Catherine Beauchemin-Pinard (CAN) and Iva Oberan (CRO) must not be overlooked either.
It is an exceptionally deep category but there are only four places on the podium.