Kazakh judoka Abylaikhan Zhubanazar has advanced to the quarterfinals of the world championships in Baku in the under-81 kilogram weight category, while Zhalgas Kairolla exited in the round of 16, infohub.kz reports.
In the round of 16, Zhubanazar defeated host nation athlete Vusal Galandarov of Azerbaijan. The Kazakh will face 2024 Olympic bronze medalist Lee Joon-hwan of South Korea in the quarterfinals.
Kairolla, in turn, lost in the round of 16 to 2026 European championships bronze medalist Mihajlo Simin of Serbia. The bout went to extra time, with Simin scoring the only point – a yuko.
Thus, of the two Kazakhs in the under-81 kilogram category, Zhubanazar remains in contention for medals. This season he won the Grand Slam in Lausanne, and also claimed bronze at the Asian championships and the Paris Grand Slam.
The day before, Ansarbek Gainullin was eliminated in the under-73 kilogram category after losing his opening bout. Earlier, Nurkanat Serikbayev and Akylzhan Zhubatkanov also finished without medals. So far, Kazakhstan's only medal at the world championships has been won by Sherzod Davlatov – silver in the under-60 kilogram category.
The judo world championships are being held in Baku, Azerbaijan, from October 4 to 11, with 622 athletes from 93 countries participating. Kazakhstan's team is represented by 15 athletes.