The key facts

  • Konul Aliyeva (Azerbaijan) won the country's first-ever women's Grand Slam gold in the -48 kg category
  • Balabay Agayev defeated 18-year-old Loic Koudbudinov at -60 kg
  • Sukhrob Bofiyev (Bahrain), ranked 277th, took gold at -66 kg in his first World Judo Tour final

Day one of the tournament in Abu Dhabi

After the World Championships concluded, the Judo World Tour returned to the Mubadala Arena in Abu Dhabi, where the Grand Slam kicked off on October 29. The opening day brought several notable results, including a historic victory and one of the biggest sensations of the season. Euronews reports this in its review of the first day of competition.

A historic gold for Azerbaijan

The -48 kg final featured Merve Azak of Turkey and Konul Aliyeva of Azerbaijan. Aliyeva took the win — it is the first women's Grand Slam gold in history for Azerbaijan. The medals were presented by International Judo Federation President Marius Vizer.

Wins for Agayev and Topolovec

In the -60 kg division, top seed Balabay Agayev defeated 18-year-old Loic Koudbudinov, finishing the bout with a spectacular ippon. According to the judoka, he had previously taken bronze in Abu Dhabi and is now happy to swap it for gold. In the -52 kg category, Olympic medalist Amandine Buchard lost to Tija Topolovec of Croatia, who scored a waza-ari and claimed the first Grand Slam gold of her career. The Croatian noted that she is leaving Abu Dhabi with a medal for the first time.

Sensation at -66 kg and a win for Favaz

The biggest surprise of the day came in the -66 kg final: Sukhrob Bofiyev, competing for Bahrain, was ranked only 277th in the world, but in his first-ever Tour final he beat Yago Abuladze and took gold. In the -57 kg division, France's Marta Favaz scored waza-ari twice — after an o-soto-gaeshi on Shirlen Nascimento's failed attack and an o-uchi-gari throw across the entire tatami — and claimed her second Grand Slam title. The hosts also delighted the crowd: competing for the UAE was Narmandakh Bayanmunkh.