The pair competed at the 2025 World Kata Championships in Paris and at the 2026 edition in Bosnia and Herzegovina, among other editions. In total they have won 6 world kata titles, all in Juno-Kata; impressive.
With nerves calmed and the officials in place, the final block then opened. The medal contests for the first five categories of the event delivered in every way: big throws, fast transition, dynamic exchanges and of course emotion. Athletes in both J1 (blind) and J2 (visually impaired) categories fought to be Asian Para Games medallists.
J1W - 52 kg:
In the final, Japanese judoka Shizuka Hangai had the crowd on her side as she stepped up to face Suvd-Erdene Togtokhbayar (MGL). She had a slow start in the morning session, struggling to make the space needed to attack, but as the day progressed, Hangai’s confidence grew and she made her way to the final with some efficient throws.
It may well have been expected that Japan would take the gold but the Mongolian competition did not make it easy for her, scoring a yuko with a kata-guruma in the first minute. It took Hangai almost until the last minute to find her footing, throwing Togtokhbayar with ippon-seoi-nage for a waza-ari to take the lead. She held this lead until the gong to become Japan’s first champion of this Games.
Medallists
GOLD - Shizuka Hangai (JPN)
SILVER - Suvd-Erdene Togtokhbayar (MGL)
BRONZE - Bonu Babaeva (UZB)
BRONZE - Alfiya Tlekkabyl (KAZ)
J1M -70 kg:
Shiwen Zhu (CHN) and Junaedi (INA) gave great performances to reach the final of this busy and challenging category. Zhu opened the final with an unbelievably fast footstep to place a yuko on his side of the board; it took Junaedi by surprise. Zhu continued to attack with the same attitude and secured the win inside the first minute, an osaekomi-waza providing the ippon score he needed for gold.
Medallists
GOLD Shiwen Zhu (CHN)
SILVER Junaedi (INA)
BRONZE Kamil Parmar (IND)
BRONZE Ibrokhimjon Akbarov (UZB)
J1W -60 kg:
This was another category that confirmed the ranking. The four top seeds made their way to the semi-finals without looking back and from there, the top two seeds dominated to reach the final.
Uljon Amrieva (UZB) and Yijie SHI (CHN) fought an incredibly close contest. Huge attacks came from both sides but the escapes were just as dynamic and so no scores were registered in the first three and a half minutes. Then, with only seven seconds left on the clock, Shi created enough momentum to get a landed that could be considered for scoring purposes and after video review it was determined that she had score a yuko. This was enough to secure the title.
Medallists
GOLD Yijie SHI (CHN)
SILVER Uljon Amrieva (UZB)
BRONZE Dheny Marsyelina (INA)
BRONZE Fotima Toirova (UZB)
J2M -70 kg:
The top two seeds showed exactly why they arrived as the men to beat. Ibragim Nurmakhanuly (KAZ) and Kerman Nurillaev (UZB) made their way to the final, throwing everyone in their path.
Nurmakhanuly was first to attack, in the first exchange too. He cam close to scoring but a review confirmed there was nothing to award. So, he attacked again and threw for a waza-ari in the second exchange, putting his opponent under great pressure. The response? Nurillaev equalised quickly and looked like he might even score a second time but Nurmakhanuly was able to regroup and eventually throw Nurillaev for another waza-ari.
Medallists
GOLD Ibragim Nurmakhanuly (KAZ)
SILVER Kerman Nurillaev (UZB)
BRONZE Yujiro Seto (JPN)
BRONZE Tetsuya Sakurai (JPN)
J2W -52 kg:
Top seed Aibike Ulanbek Kyzy (KGZ) had no real obstacle between her and a place in the final. Her goal was gold, nothing less, but second seed Kokila (IND) was also in great form and duly met her in the final, challenging for the top spot. The challenge didn't last long though as Ulanbek Kyzy turned in and threw with a massive seoi-otoshi for ippon within less than a minute.
Medallists
GOLD Aibike Ulanbek Kyzy (KGZ)
SILVER Kokila (IND)
BRONZE Yi Liu (CHN)
BRONZE Yui Fujiwara (JPN)
Day two will begin at 10am local time. Stay up to date with news from the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Para Games right here at IJF.org.