DOHA: Nils Stump won Switzerland’s first ever world judo title on Tuesday, taking gold in the men’s under-73kg category in Doha. Stump, 26, defeated former European champion Manuel Lombardo of Italy in the final, having delivered an ippon to beat Japanese star Soichi Hashimoto earlier in the day. Hashimoto, the 2017 world champion, claimed bronze with Murodjon Yuldoshev of Uzbekistan.

Canada’s Christa Deguchi added to her 2019 gold medal with another title in the women’s under-57kg class. Deguchi beat Japan’s Haruka Funakubo by ippon less than two minutes into the final. Jessica Klimkait, who shared third place at the Tokyo Olympics, earned another medal for Canada, pocketing bronze alongside Mongolia’s Enkhriilen Lkhagvatogoo.

Russian military emblem

Meanwhile, the International Judo Federation (IJF) said on Wednesday it had ejected a group of spectators from the World Judo Championships in Doha for refusing to remove a Russian military symbol. Three spectators were seen wearing the Ribbon of St George, which is considered by many Ukrainians as a symbol of Russian aggression and has been banned in several European countries, as they watched Tuesday’s action at an arena in the Qatari capital.

The IJF told AFP that the spectators refused to remove the emblem and so were thrown out of the venue. The IJF has allowed Russian and Belarusian judokas to take part in these championships as neutral competitors, having previously banned them in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. As a result of the decision to allow the Russians and Belarusians to return, Ukraine has boycotted the event. — AFP