Kazakh judoka Abylaikhan Zhubanazar, competing in the under-81-kilogram weight class, has explained his ippon defeat in the bronze-medal bout at the 2026 World Judo Championships in Baku, citing insufficient preparation for the tournament and a tactical error, according to infohub.kz.
In the fight for third place, the Kazakh athlete lost to Omar Rajabli of Azerbaijan.
Zhubanazar said he was unable to prepare fully for the current world championships, which made every bout on the tatami extremely difficult for him.
The athlete noted that his opponent came into the bronze-medal matches in excellent form, while he himself made a small mistake that led to the early defeat.
Zhubanazar finished fifth overall at the Baku tournament. Earlier, on his way to the semifinals, he defeated the decorated South Korean athlete Lee Yong-hwan, but then lost to another Azerbaijani judoka, Zelim Tckaev.
Earlier, Kursiv reported that Kazakh judoka Abylaikhan Zhubanazar was left without a medal at the World Championships in Baku.
The World Judo Championships are being held in Baku, Azerbaijan, from October 4 to 11, with 622 athletes from 93 countries taking part. Kazakhstan's national team is represented by 15 athletes.