Lightweight (≤63 kilograms), Men

The favorite was Japan’s Yoshiha Minami, who had won the last two World Championships, and was the 1976 All-Japan champion. The 1976 European Champion, Hungary’s József Tuncsik, was also considered a medal challenger. But in round one, Minami faced France’s Yves Delvingt. The match was a defensive struggle but Delvingt’s victory was not in doubt at the end. Delvingt then lost to Italy’s Felice Mariani, which put Minami out of any chance of even a consolation bronze. The final came down to two unheralded judoka, Cuba’s Héctor Rodríguez and Korea’s Jang Eun-Gyeong. The final was described in one source as “complicated.” Rodríguez had the lead early, but twice countered with kosoto-gari. They then began to accrue penalties for passivity. Finally, Rodríguez went to the mat, appearing to injure his ribs. Bandaged by the Cuban doctor, he fought back to take the lead, and the match went the duration. At first, the referee mistakenly awarded the title to Jang, who jumped up in to the air in jubilation. But the mistake was quickly corrected, as Rodríguez won the first Cuban judo gold medal.