Jakub Sordyl of Poland won the men\u2019s heavyweight category at the Dushanbe Grand Slam, with none of the four top seeds making it to the final. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Having been down by a waza-ari in their semi-final, Sordyl worked incredibly hard to eventually beat Ushangi Kokauri of Azerbaijan, the number one seed, by a yuko and three penalties. Kokauri just couldn\u2019t hold his lead under the pressure from the Polish fighter and had to concede, dropping him into a bronze medal contest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the final, Sordyl faced reigning junior world champion Bislan Katamardov of Russia, a newcomer to the senior circuit. Both men were searching for their first grand slam medals in Dushanbe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Katamardov was first to score, a yuko with a kata-guruma. When he tried the same technique again a little later, Sordyl was ready and avoided the score. He went on to use the transition phase to secure the \u201cosaekomi\u201d call from the referee. He held on for the full 20 seconds and let a massive smile spread across his face.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ahead of receiving his medal, Sordyl said, \u201cAfter I won the semi-final, I needed a couple of minutes to realise that I had reached the gold medal match. After I calmed down, I began to focus on the possible outcome: winning here. I will celebrate after Astana, with my girlfriend, and take a couple of days off.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the men’s -100kg, a category that the hosts had hoped would be theirs, it became a very open field when Briton Max Gregory threw the number one seeded Dzhakhongir Madzhidov of Tajikistan out of the competition before losing himself in the repechage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many contenders could have capitalised but it was Adam Sangariev of Russia and Fuchun Huang who reached the final to fight for gold. The first four minutes was close, neck-and-neck, both attacking and both defending well but as soon as the golden score period began, Huang unleashed a devastating o-uchi-gari that drove Sangariev on to his back for ippon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Huang won bronze in Dushanbe a year ago and upgrading to gold in 2026 gives him a second grand slam medal; Dushanbe is now a special place for him. This also gives China their 4th medal overall in at this tournament.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Huang said, \u201cI understood after last year\u2019s performance that the difference between bronze and gold is a little nuance. Step by step, I got closer to my first grand slam title, and where else to win other than one of the best judo cities, Dushanbe?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The top 3 seeds in the men’s -90kg were all very close on the IJF World Ranking List, at 12, 13 and 15, but Theodoros Tselidis, the leader among them, has far-and-away the best profile. The Greek hero won Olympic bronze in Paris just two years ago and in Dushanbe, and he showed why.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tselidis arrived at the final after a series of well calculated throws in the early rounds, to face Mansur Lorsanov of Russia, three times a grand slam winner in the past. To earn his fourth would be a challenge against Tselidis, both athletes aware of the risks of opening up too much. However, their reluctance to commit left them open in a different way and they began to collect penalties. As the golden score period approached, each judoka already had 2 penalties; a third in either direction would finish the contest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The third and final shido eventually arrived with Theodoros Tselidis and Lorsanov could add his 4th grand slam gold medal to his prize list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lorsanov explained, \u201cI like to compete here because of the support I get. It is just unreal, I have never experienced it anywhere before. The Tajik crowd knows how to cheer. There is no special key to winning against the Greek, but it\u2019s the third time I have beaten him out of our three bouts.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The lighter of the two women\u2019s categories on the third and final day of the Grand Slam was the -78 kg category. From the beginning of the day it seemed written in advance that Yelyzaveta Lytvynenko would be the winner. There was little in the draw to disturb the 2022 world medallist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the final, Yelyzaveta Lytvynenko of the UAE arrived ready to dominate and put her first attack in as soon as the referee uttered \u201chajime.\u201d It wasn\u2019t fruitful but the next attacks put Yael Van Heemst of the Netherlands under more and more pressure. After one minute and 18 seconds, Lytvynenko authored the inevitable ippon win, a massive hip throw that launched Van Heemst on to her back. This was Lytvynenko\u2019s tenth World Judo Tour medal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGetting my first grand slam triumph in Dushanbe feels unique because the fans here really support and understand judo. I began the day feeling strong and left more in my tank for the final session, to finish on the top of the podium,\u201d said Lytvynenko.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
China, already happy with a gold medal at -100 kg, had the chance of another with Jinesinuer Ayiman in the +78 kg category. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ayiman stepped on to the tatami of the Qasri Tennis arena to face Italian Asya Tavano, who took the first score early in the contest, a yuko. With the Italian leading, Ayiman had to come forward and up the pace but no matter how hard she tried, she could not break the defences of Tavano. Now Tavano has two gold medals from Dushanbe, in 2024 and 2026, and can be satisfied with a great day\u2019s work at this year\u2019s edition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Asya Tavano said, \u201cDushanbe will always be special for me. I won my first grand slam gold here, and now again. The fans here support us so much and this gives me more energy. I feel really confident after a lot of strong practices. They have paid off here and in previous events as well. However, the real work starts only now in Mongolia because the goal is the Olympics.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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