The quarter-final between Uzbekistan and the overall winners, by nation, of the individual event, Russia, was an epic rollercoaster which balanced, in the end, on one unbelievable, unexpected, impressive performance.
Poshshajon Jumabaeva (UZB) competed in the individual event in her usual category, -70 kg. Seeded sixth due to her Asian cadet championship medal and some promising results in Europe this year, she had high hopes of a world medal, but judo is unforgiving and can be unpredictable! Jumabaeva lost in the first round, thrown for ippon by an unseeded Greek opponent. She became pivotal in this team match!
The Uzbek team was seeded fourth and had a bye in the first round of the team event. In the quarter-final they drew Russia, an outstanding team including several world medallists, even world champions, from this 2026 flagship individual event. It would be a tough team to beat, that was certain.
New world +90 kg champion Artem Nikulin (RUS) was first to claim a point, defeating the top seed from the individuals Alibek Durdiev. Charos Hikmatova (UZB) then evened the tally before Kamil Khalinbekov (RUS) reclaimed Russia’s lead.
Then came the -63 kg round. Current Asian cadet champion Parizoda Yuldasheva (UZB) took the lead against Polina Kultenkova, a waza-ari and 2 yuko scores on her side off the board. From there, it should have been a comfortable win, but Yuldasheva backed off with a casual stance and Kultenkova rushed at her and hooked in, throwing for ippon with o-uchi-gari. Uzbekistan had needed that win to equalise as what was to come was likely to be too much to overcome. It was now 3-1 to Russia.
Sammander Sunnatov (UZB) and Mukhammad Mizaev (RUS) had an incredibly close contest at -81 kg. Sunnatov had to win to save his team from going out. Mizaev had to win to carry his team through. Two penalties apiece was a nail-biting position for them to reach, not fun for either team. When the third shido arrived on Mizaev’s side of the board, Uzbekistan had their reprieve. They were as close as they could have been to going out!
At 3-2 in Russia’s favour and with Anna Zheleva (RUS) bound to win her +63 kg contest, surely Russia would still cement the win. Zheleva won the world +70 kg title on day 3 of the individual competition. Her opposition in the mixed team event was to be -70 kg judoka Poshshajon Jumabaeva, fighting in the team category of +63 kg. It was an easy prediction, right?
It all happened very fast. In the first exchange Zhelava latched on and scored a ytuko with a ko-soto-gake. As they stood up together, there was no need for a ‘mate’ call and so they re-engaged. Zhelava went for a ko-uchi-gake but instinctively Jumabaeva countered it. It was a clean ippon and brought Uzbekistan back into a match that should have been lost long before.
At 3-3 the winning team would be decided by a randomly drawn golden score contest. The dial landed at -63 kg and so Yuldasheva had an opportunity to fix her earlier mistake. After a minute and a half, she struck with an o-uchi-gari and earned a yuko that put the team through to the semi-finals, 4-3. What a turnaround for Uzbekistan!
This match illustrates how important the collective result is and how each individual contest within it creates the conditions for overall wins and losses. Each contest result has an impact on the team. From Yuldasheva’s first loss to Sunnatov’s close call and on to Jumbaeva’s incredible win against the odds, the team, together, kept themselves on the right track. Yuldasheva’s second contest, her golden score win, the team’s fourth and most important win, was the result of the collective effort.
Uzbekistan moves into the semi-final having already shown why the mixed team format is so engaging. Every person in the arena is glued to the action. The unbelievable personal performances, the collective spirit, the desire to give everything for the team; these are the reasons why we love team competitions. In Guayaquil, it is already a phenomenal occasion! We continue…