Koga Holds Firm in Ulaanbaatar as Europe’s Medal Hopes Split in -48 kg

Wakana Koga and Wenna Zhuang shaped the story of the -48 kg event in Ulaanbaatar, where a chaotic day in Judo ended with a composed final. Koga’s control under pressure made the difference, while several seeded athletes and early favourites were forced out before the medal fights.

Shirine Boukli of France arrived in Mongolia with real momentum. The world and Olympic medallist had already won the Paris Grand Slam and the European Championships this season, and as top seed she looked like one of the main names to watch.

But from her opening contest, things did not flow easily. Against Galiya Tynbayeva of Kazakhstan, Boukli needed a long golden score before finally finding a narrow yuko. It was enough to move on, but not enough to suggest she had fully settled into the day.

Her next match brought Belgium’s Lois Petit, a two-time junior world medallist still relatively new at grand slam level. Boukli again could not lift the pace to her usual standard, and a second straight golden score became the turning point of her tournament. Petit took a major win and sent one of the biggest names in the category out early.

Lois Petit delivered one of the standout surprises of the day.

That result opened space in the draw, but Petit’s run did not continue all the way. Wenna Zhuang of China, another athlete who outperformed expectations, had already disrupted the section by stopping Sabina Giliazova. In the semi-final, Zhuang was dominant against Petit and secured the win by Ippon to reach the final.

The other side of the draw was no kinder to the favourites. Anudari Jamsran of Mongolia and Laura Martinez Abelenda of Spain were both eliminated before the final, leaving Koga to come through. The Japanese judoka arrived with strong recent results, including a Tokyo Grand Slam title at the end of 2025 and a bronze medal from Paris earlier this season.

In the gold medal contest, Koga wasted no time. She moved ahead with an early yuko in the opening seconds against Zhuang and then stayed in charge of the match. With less than a minute to go, she added to her lead and closed out the contest with impressive composure to take the title.

After the final, Koga said the event was an important step on the route to the world championships and part of the wider Olympic qualification path. She explained that she expected Zhuang’s power, stayed disciplined with her grips, and fought with the goal of taking the best possible result.

Europe still had strong moments by the end of the category. Türkiye placed both Sila Ersin and Tugce Beder into one bronze medal contest, a rare and notable achievement in itself. Their match was tight and tactical, and Beder eventually came through on penalties in golden score to earn Türkiye’s first medal of the new Olympic qualification period.

The second bronze medal match brought another European duel, with Martinez Abelenda facing Petit. This one ended much faster. Martinez Abelenda timed a right-handed seoi-otoshi beautifully after strong preparation and scored Ippon, sealing her place on the podium.

Laura Martinez Abelenda finished with a sharp seoi-otoshi for bronze.

It was Koga’s gold at the top, but Europe still left the -48 kg event with meaningful results, surprise wins and two places on the podium.

Source: IJF.org

Image source: IJF / International Judo Federation