Extra-Lightweight (≤48 kilograms), Women

In the super-lightweight, the four seeded judoka shared the medals. Three of them had already won World titles. Top seed, and eventual gold medallist, Distria Krasniqi from Kosovo moved down from the half-lightweight to the super-lightweight in 2018 in order to avoid a clash with teammate, and Rio gold medal winner, Majlinda Kelmendi in the qualification for Tokyo. In the semi-final of the 2019 World Championships, Krasniqi was defeated by Funa Tonaki from Japan. Further honours, however, including the European title in 2021, earned her the top-ranking spot. In her four bouts, Krasniqi did not require the Golden Score once. She won the first two by Ippon (full point), against Lin Chen-Hao from Chinese Taipei after just 19 seconds. After losing to Mönkhbatyn Urantsetseg for bronze at the 2021 World Championships, Krasniqi took revenge and defeated the three-time Olympian and 2013 World Champion from Mongolia in the semi-final by Waza-ari (half point) for an O-soto-gari. In the final, she again met the home favourite Tonaki, world champion in 2017 and runner-up in 2018 and 2019. Krasniqi prevailed via Waza-ari with an Uchi-mata (Inner thigh throw). By winning silver, Tonaki claimed the first medal for Japan at the Tokyo Olympics. She had eliminated reigning Olympic champion, Paula Pareto of Argentina, in the quarter-final.

Bronze went to Mönkhbatyn and Dariya Bilodid from Ukraine, maybe the most successful judoka in this class since Rio with two titles at both the World Championships (2018, 2019) and the European Championships (2017, 2019). After falling victim to Funa earlier in the competition, although she had defeated her in two World Championships finals, Bilodid won the bronze medal match by Kuzure-kesa-gatame for an Ippon in the last second of the match against Israel’s Shira Rishony.