Kumite, >75 kg, Men

Competitors were divided into two round-robin pools with the top two competitors advancing to semi-finals and final. This was, arguably, the most open of the kumite categories. Ugur Aktaş (TUR) was ranked #1 in the world at the 84 kg category, with Gogita Arkania (GEO) ranked #1 at the + 84 kg category.

In pool A, however, it was the home nation’s Ryutaro Araga who went undefeated to top the group, with Aktaş finishing as runner-up. Arkania was eliminated, winning just one contest. Pool B was won by world ranked #2 at the + 84 kg category, Sajad Ganjzadeh (IRI), who won 3 matches and drew the other one. The surprise of the pool was the advancement of Tareg Hamedi (KSA), whose main achievement to date had been victories in the 2017 and 2019 + 84 kg category at the Asian Championships, and he only qualified for the Olympics through the qualification tournament. Despite being ranked only 21st in the world rankings, he won 2 and drew 1 of his pool contests to advance to the semi-finals.

In the first semi-final, Hamedi scored a yuko in the first minute against Araga, and a further yuko 10 seconds from the end of the contest, ensuring a 2-0 victory for Hamedi. The second semi-final was a close contest, Ganjzadeh and Aktaş each scoring a yuko after 18 seconds. A further yuko each meant that the contest ended tied at 2-2, with Ganjzadeh advancing as he had scored the first point.

In the final Hamedi scored an ippon after 9 seconds, followed shortly after by a yuko, with Ganjzadeh replying with a yuko. Hamedi led 4-1 when he made an ippon kick to the head of his opponent which knocked Ganjzadeh unconscious. The judges ruled the kick illegal and Hamedi was disqualified, the gold medal being awarded to Ganjzadeh. Although Ganjzadeh was taken from the mat on a stretcher and was unaware he had won until later, he recovered for the medal ceremony later that day.