Kazakh judoka Abylaikhan Zhuvanazar finished fifth at the 2026 World Championships in Baku, failing to win bronze in the under-81 kg category. In the decisive bout for third place, he lost to Azerbaijan's Omar Rajabli, according to infohub.kz.
The contest began with points exchanged on both sides: each athlete received a yuko. Rajabli then ended the match early in his favor, applying an osaekomi hold. The Azerbaijani thus claimed the bronze medal, while Zhuvanazar finished outside the podium.
On his way to the medal bout, the Kazakh earned three wins: over Australia's Keysin Oti, Azerbaijan's Vusal Galandarov and 2024 Olympic bronze medalist Lee Joon-hwan of South Korea. In the semifinal, Zhuvanazar lost to 2025 World Championships bronze medalist Zelim Tckaev of Azerbaijan, who scored two waza-ari.
In the end, the 26-year-old Kazakh placed fifth at the World Championships. The medal could have been his first at a senior world championship. In 2026, Zhuvanazar won the Grand Slam in Lausanne and also took bronze at the Asian Championships and the Paris Grand Slam.
After four days of competition, Kazakhstan's only medal in Baku was brought by Sherzod Davlatov, who won silver in the under-60 kg category.
The World Judo Championships are being held in Baku, Azerbaijan, from October 4 to 11, with 622 athletes from 93 countries taking part. Kazakhstan is represented by 15 athletes.