Western Australia’s Kaian Kelly represented Australia at the 2026 Cadet World Championships in Guayaquil, Ecuador, on Thursday, 20 August.
The UWA Judo Club athlete competed in the Cadet Men’s −60kg division, recording an impressive opening victory to progress into the final 16 at his first individual World Championships.
Kelly entered the competition ranked fourth on the IJF Cadet World Ranking List. He was one of 29 athletes in a strong division featuring leading cadet judoka from Europe, Asia, Oceania and the Americas.
The 2026 Cadet World Championships brought together more than 450 athletes from almost 60 countries, making it one of the largest and most significant competitions on the international cadet calendar.
Opening victory over Angel Amaya
Kelly began his World Championships campaign against Argentina’s Angel Amaya in the round of 32.
Amaya entered the event as the reigning South American cadet champion and proved a difficult opponent during a competitive opening contest.
Neither athlete registered a score during the opening two minutes, but Amaya received his first shido for non-combativity after 2:25.
The Argentinian received a second non-combativity penalty shortly after the contest entered its final minute.
Kelly then produced the decisive moment with 27 seconds remaining, throwing Amaya for ippon with a right-sided ashi-guruma after 3:33.
The victory carried Kelly into the final 16 of the Cadet Men’s −60kg division.
Kelly faces familiar Mongolian opponent
In the round of 16, Kelly faced Mongolia’s Davaabaatar Amgalanbaatar.
The pair had recently met in the final of the Macau Asian Cadet Cup on 25 July, where Kelly claimed the silver medal behind the Mongolian.
Amgalanbaatar opened the scoring after 39 seconds, throwing Kelly with sumi-otoshi for waza-ari.
Kelly responded strongly and brought himself back into the contest after 1:52, scoring a yuko with a right-sided seoi-nage.
The Mongolian later took the contest to the ground and secured an osaekomi with yoko-shiho-gatame. The hold produced a second waza-ari after 2:29, giving Amgalanbaatar waza-ari-awasete-ippon and the victory.
Amgalanbaatar advanced into the quarterfinals and ultimately completed the competition in fifth place.
Because Kelly was eliminated before the quarterfinal stage, he did not enter the repechage and finished unplaced.
Kaian Kelly’s results
| Round | Opponent | Nation | Result | Opponent’s final placing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Round of 32 | Angel Amaya | Argentina | Win by ippon—right ashi-guruma at 3:33 | Unplaced |
| Round of 16 | Davaabaatar Amgalanbaatar | Mongolia | Loss by waza-ari-awasete-ippon at 2:29; Kelly scored yuko | 5th |
Kazakhstan’s Rassulkhan Gabit went on to win the −60kg world title, defeating Canada’s Roman Semyrozum in the final.
Mongolia’s Enkhtur Jamiyan and Kazakhstan’s Akhmet Baubek claimed the bronze medals, while Amgalanbaatar and Japan’s Daichi Tashiro completed the division in fifth place. Official −60kg results.
An outstanding 2026 international season
Reaching the final 16 and recording an ippon victory on the sport’s biggest cadet stage represented another significant achievement in Kelly’s development.
Kelly entered the World Championships following an excellent international season that included:
- Gold at the Mandurah Cadet Oceania Cup;
- Fifth place at the Hong Kong Asian Cadet Cup;
- Silver at the Macau Asian Cadet Cup; and
- Seventh place after stepping into the junior division at the Macau Junior Asian Cup.
These performances carried Kelly to fourth place on the Cadet Men’s −60kg World Ranking List ahead of the championships.
His World Championships campaign provided an opportunity to test himself against athletes from two other continental unions. Kelly defeated the reigning South American cadet champion before producing a competitive performance against an opponent who went on to finish fifth in the world.
Congratulations to Kaian on reaching the final 16 and representing Western Australia and Australia at the 2026 Cadet World Championships.
