Nicolas Messner

Dutch Olympian Sanne Van Dijke booked her first victory since her gold at the Grand Slam in Tokyo. At the Zagreb Grand Prix she fought one category higher U78kg and still achieved to be the best of the pack. It was her first gold medal in the Croatian capital and second medal ever, but her first was back in 2019.

In the men’s U100kg category of the Grand Prix in Zagreb Anton Savytskiy of the Ukraine was victorious. After Daniel Szegedi’s (HUN) impressive victory on the second day of competition, Hungary entered the third day of the Zagreb Grand Prix with high hopes, particularly in Zsombor Veg (HUN), the top seed in the U100kg category. Veg began his campaign strong, defeating Silvan Bulthuis (NED) with a well-executed sumi-gaeshi followed by a tomoe-nage. In the next round, he showcased his versatility with an uchi-mata and a ko-soto-gake to overcome Zaur Duniamaliiev (UKR).

Top-seeded Coralie Hayme of France lived up to her status in the +78kg category, where France has historically excelled, by qualifying for the final at the Zagreb Grand Prix. However, her journey was anything but smooth, as she faced stiff resistance from her opponents.

The first known final of the Grand Slam in Abu Dhabi was in the U48 kg category, with a contest between Andrea Stojadinov (SRB), winner of the Tashkent Grand Slam 2023, and Sabina Giliazova (IJF), finalist in Kazakhstan earlier in the season. For both athletes a win would mean a second grand slam gold medal as Giliazova also won the Tashkent Grand Slam in 2024.

In the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam final for men U60kg, Iznaur Saaev picked up a first penalty for false attack after one minute, followed by a second one a little later. Revol was also penalised for stepping out of the competition area. Generally speaking it was a very pleasant contest to follow, with actions coming from both sides.

Gold Medal for Khorloodoi Bishrelt and the host country. A premiere to the delight of the public. The -52 kg category offered a first opportunity for the host country to please fans and judo lovers in the Emirates, with the qualification of Khorloodoi Bishrelt (UAE) for the final. To get there, after a first bye, she was opposed to Gabriela Conceicao (BRA), then the Kosovar Erza Muminoviq in the semi-final.

Frenchwoman Manon Deketer won the gold medal at the Grand Slam in Abu Dhabi U63kg.Five times medalist on the World Judo Tour and world bronze medalist in 2022 in Tashkent, is not an unknown judoka therefore, despite a relatively distant 43rd place in the world.

Surprise! Former Russian fighter Makhmadbek Makhmadbekov is now fighting for UAE and with the same skills. On Saturday he was able to capture the gold medal for his new home country. After the great performance of Khorloodoi Bishrelt (UAE), winner in the -52 kg category on the first day of competition at the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam 2024, it was the turn Makhmadbekov (UAE).

The poster for the +78kg final at the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam was quickly known. It pitted two judoka who are used to be seen on the international circuit and who had more than one opportunity to shine during the previous Olympic cycle, although neither of them participated in the Paris 2024 Games.

15 years, that's starting to count. It was in fact from 2009, at the very beginning of the World Judo Tour adventure, that Abu Dhabi hosted its first tournament on the world circuit. Since then, the grand slams have followed one another at a steady pace, while other major international competitions have taken place here, including the junior, veteran and kata world championships and last May the senior world championships. This was the last major competition before the Paris Olympic Games. Now a new generation will stand up.