The world of judo is coming together in Tokyo this weekend. It’s a home game for the Japanese athletes. And they showed it with special throws.

In the Japanese city of Tokyo, the 2023 Judo Grand Slam is slowly entering the home stretch. This diverse sport is at home in Japan, so it is clear that the athletes here are doubly motivated.

More than 500 athletes from over 80 nations are competing in the two-day World Cup in the Japanese capital.

In the 73-kilogram class, Hidayat Heydarov took the gold medal. He performed a brilliant waza-ari against local hero Tanaka Shiho, and this throw secured first place for the judoka from Azerbaijan.

“It’s something special to fight in Tokyo,” Heydarov said later. ‘I’ve never competed in Tokyo at a Grand Slam before. I’ve now won a medal at the World Championships. And in the final against a Japanese, even though I’ve often lost to him, that’s a very special feeling.’

In the 57-kilogram weight category, Canada’s Christa Deguchi showed who should take gold today with an ippon in the final. Silver went to Jéssica Lima of Brazil. “When I was little, I used to walk around up here getting autographs. Now I’m on the side of the athletes and I can give autographs,” Deguchi said. “I hope that I can be someone’s dream. Maybe the little kids can fight here in the future. That would really make me happy.”

In the 78-kilogram class, Japan’s Mao Arai was unbeatable. She defeated France’s Léa Fontaine with outstanding floor work.

In the final of the 81-kilogram weight class, Joonhwan Lee from South Korea faced Matthias Casse. The Belgian put up a tough fight, but a waza-ari was enough for Lee to take gold.

An Ippon by Sanshiro Murao in the -90 kg weight class against Luka Maisuradze from Georgia earned the Japanese gold – and in front of his home crowd.

In the -70 kg class, Sanne Van Dijke from the Netherlands won against Tanaka Shiho from Japan in Golden Score – and thus first place.

The Japanese team was highly motivated until the end. Ippon after Ippon thrilled the spectators. That’s it for today from Tokyo, on Sunday the second day will continue.