With her win in the 2026 Tbilisi Grand Slam, Haruka Kaju (JPN) maintains her incredible winning streak. Since her debut in late 2024, Kaju has not lost a single international match.
Kaju came out of nowhere to win the 2024 Tokyo Grand Slam. This was as surprise as she was a literally unknown at the time. She followed that up with consecutive victories in the 2025 Paris Grand Slam, the 2025 Asian Senior Championships, the 2025 World Championships, the 2025 Guadalajara Grand Prix, and the 2025 Tokyo Grand Slam.
The 2026 Tbilisi Grand Slam was her first competition this year. She started off by beating Sara Golden (USA) with her trademark osaekomi turnover.
This is a technique she used over and over again during her very successful run in 2025. She won most of her matches using this turnover, which everybody knows about but cannot stop.
Next, she threw Laura Vazquez Fernandez (ESP) with osoto-gari for ippon. In her semifinal match, against Enkhriilen Lkhagvatogoo (MGL), she produced two throws. The first was a takedown from behind for yuko. The second was an opportunistic ouchi-gari in the dying seconds when her Mongolian opponent rushed towards her.
Kaju’s final match was against former World Champion Joanne Van Lieshout (NED). There was no score here and she won it, uncharacteristically, through penalties. It was not a flashy final but it was a good win for Kaju who has now shown that not only is she a terror on the ground but she can also win by throwing and through tactical fighting.
