- The first Judo events from the 2021 Olympics air at 10:00 p.m. EST on Friday.
- Naohisa Takato is a significant favorite in the Men’s Extra-Lightweight division.
- Daria Bilodid, Distria Krasniqi and Funa Tonaki are all serious competitors for the Women’s Extra-Lightweight gold medal.
TOKYO - The first rounds of Olympic Judo are set to kick off at 10:00 p.m. EST for sports betting fans.
Each day will bring successive Judo matchups, with both the men’s and women’s side starting at the lowest weight class, and moving to the highest.
The Judo portion of the Olympics will conclude with the mixed team event, which sees Japan as a notable favorite, which makes sense given the quality of their team.
Let’s take a look at the Judo events that will air at 10:00 p.m. EST on Jul. 23 - the Men’s Extra Lightweight and the Women’s Extra Lightweight.
Tokyo 2021 - Men's Extra-Lightweight (60kg)
- Naohisa Takato (JPN) EVEN
- Robert Mshvidobadze (RUS) +500
- Yeldos Smetov (KAZ) +550
- Lukhumi Chkhvimiani (GEO) +600
- Won Jin Kim (KOR) +700
- Yung Wei Yang (TPE) +1100
- Francisco Garrigos (ESP) +2500
- Amartuvshin Dashdavaa (MGL) +3300
- Sharafuddin Lutfillaev (UZB) +3300
- Jorre Verstraeten (BEL) +5000
- Karamat Huseynov (AZE) +5000
Naohisa Takato is the top ranked judoka in the world when it comes to the Men’s Extra-Lightweight division, and sits atop the odds boards at the online sportsbooks.
He’s been a dominant force in the division since 2009, when he won the World Championships in Budapest.
However, his competition schedule has slowed down recently - his most recent gold medal win came in 2018, at the Zagreb Grand Prix, as well as in the 2018 World Championships.
Takato has been a truly dominant fighter. His current competitive record is 74-10, and he outdid Robert Mshvidobadze, his closest competition, at the 2018 World Championships as well.
It seems likely that Takato adds to his already stacked medal case in the Extra-Lightweight division, although he did fall short at the 2016 Olympics, receiving a bronze medal.
Tokyo 2021 - Women's Extra-Lightweight (48kg)
- Daria Bilodid (UKR) +250
- Distria Krasniqi (KOS) +250
- Funa Tonaki (JPN) +275
- Urantsetseg Munkhbat (MGL) +600
- Shirine Boukli (FRA) +1000
- Paula Pareto (ARG) +1600
- Julia Figueroa (ESP) +2000
- Francesca Milani (ITA) +2800
- Irina Dolgova (RUS) +3300
- Otgonbaatar Lkhagvasuren (MGL) +4000
Daria Bilodid’s medal record begins with a bronze medal at the 2017 Hohhot Grand Prix. Since then, many of her attempts have yielded gold medals.
She’s won four Grand Prix’s, three Grand Slams and two World Championships since that 2017 bronze medal.
In 2021, Bilodid received a silver medal at the Tel Aviv Grand Slam, and a bronze at the 2021 Judo World Masters.
The woman who won gold at the 2021 Judo World Masters, Distria Krasniqi, is tied with Bilodid on the odds boards.
Funa Tonaki, another dominant judoka, is just behind the pair of them. She won the silver medal at the 2021 Judo World Masters.
Online gamblers have several days of action packed judo ahead of them, and this is only the first day!