Top 5 Judo Players Of The World

Top 5 Judo Players Of The World

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Judo having the literal meaning Gentle(ju) way(do) was invented in the year 1532 by Professor Jigaro Kano. It was developed from a martial arts form ‘Jujutsu’. It is one of the most played martial arts game across the world having its major popularity in Japan. Judo was first included in Olympics in the year 1964 giving it world wide recognition.

Here is a list Top 5 Judo Players Of The World

1. Teddy Riner

Top 5 Judo Players of the world

He is a 31-year-old French judoka who has 10 gold medals at the Judo World Championship and he is the only player to achieve this milestone. Often called ‘Teddy Bear’, the player remained unbeatable for almost 10 years since September 2010. However, in February 2020 he was defeated by Kageura Kokoro of Japan at Paris Grand Slam. He had 154 consecutive victories before the Grand Slam defeat.

He has also won 2 Olympic gold medals and is the defending champion of the title in upcoming Tokyo Olympics.

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2. Ilias Iliadis

33 years old Greek judoka, Ilias Iliadis has played in the 90 kg weight category was the youngest player to win a gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics at Athens at the age of 17.

He won the gold medal in the 2010 World Judo Championship in Tokyo and has a total of 6 World Championship medals. He is an ambassador of Judo for IJF and coach of Uzbekistan.

3 Daria Bilodid

The Ukrainian Judoka of only 19 years old has made a mark in her initial years only. She won gold medals in the 2019 World Championship and European Championship in the 48 kg category. She is the youngest two-time world judo champion and the daughter of former judoka Gennady Bilodid. She is the only judoka to take cadet junior and senior European titles in one year.

4 Joshiro Maruyama

The player is from Japan, where Judo is not only a sport but a way of life. He is 26 years old and plays in 66 kg weight category. He won gold medal in 2019 world championship and Dusseldorf Grand Slam. Also, he is the current world champion after winning the 2019 World Championship Tokyo.

5 Ryuju Nagayama

Japanese Judoka of 24 years plays in 60 kg weight category. Some of his recent achievements include gold medal in Paris Grand Slam 2020 and Qingdao Masters 2019. He has won IJF tour four times in Dusseldorf and is definitely one of the rising stars of Judo at international level.

Also Read: Top contenders for Gold Medal in Judo at Tokyo Olympics 2020