Where many categories took time to settle, the +100 kg division at the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam judo championships wasted none, producing one of the first confirmed finals of the day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gonchigsuren Batkhuyag of Mongolia maintained strong momentum throughout the morning, while Olympic medallist Tamerlan Bashaev of Russia advanced with characteristic stability, bringing them face to face for the gold medal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Batkhuyag executed his game plan to perfection. Firm on his feet, patient and tactically disciplined, he waited for Bashaev\u2019s characteristic shoulder attacks before shutting them down and countering with confidence. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
One such opportunity was enough; he scored a yuko, then managed the remainder of the contest with complete control until the final gong to take the gold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The men’s \u2013100 kg category was Russian Arman Adamian taking on teammate Idar Bifov, who emerged as one of the day\u2019s unexpected revelations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Given how well the two men know each other, the final was always likely to turn on the first significant error and it was Adamian who committed one first. Reacting too sharply to Bifov\u2019s action\u2013reaction set-up, he was rotated almost onto his back for a waza-ari that came somewhat against the run of play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Adamian responded with renewed determination, scoring a yuko with an uchi-mata to close the gap. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As the clock ticked down, Bifov seemed on the verge of victory, holding firm until the final exchanges but the former world champion had one more attack in him, a long-range o-uchi-gari that sent Bifov to the tatami for waza-ari. Back in front, Adamian held on to secure a hard-fought gold medal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The \u201390 kg category entered its final block with a gold-medal contest set between two men who had navigated the draw with contrasting paths -Georgian Lasha Bekauri, steady and imposing as ever, and Mihail Latisev of Moldovia, whose morning run combined opportunity and sharp execution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The final was swift in finding its direction. Within twenty seconds, Bekauri took a serious step toward victory, launching Latisev with his trademark, wide-arching makikomi, a technique as powerful as it is difficult to stop. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Moldovan judoka, however, did not fold. He responded with relentless pressure, pushing the double Olympic champion to the edge. Yet it is precisely in such moments that Bekauri\u2019s brilliance emerges. Under pressure he possesses a rare ability to transform danger into dominance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As Latisev continued his forward surge, Bekauri reversed the momentum, engaging his leg in an o-soto-otoshi even while the upper body appeared far from committed. The technique unfolded in an instant, sending Latisev onto his back for ippon. With it came the Georgian hero\u2019s fourth grand slam title, another statement performance from one of the sport\u2019s most formidable competitors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The women’s \u201378 kg category saw the two strongest judoka Anna Monta Olek of Germany and Italian Alice Bellandi – setting up a highly anticipated rematch of their recent world championship final.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The final was a tight affair, unsurprising given how well the two athletes know one another, having contested a world title only a few months ago. The first four minutes unfolded as a gripping battle of kumi-kata, neither judoka willing to give an inch. Each accumulated two shido, sending the contest into golden score.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was there that Anna Monta Olek seized her chance. During a moment of transition on the ground, she managed to overturn Bellandi and hold her for five seconds, enough to claim the gold medal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Japan’s Miki Mukunoki secures her first Grand Slam gold in the women’s +78 kg competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mukunoki advanced with impressive assurance, while China’s Xinran Niu emerged as the only favourite to withstand the early eliminations in the category, setting up a fully Asian gold-medal contest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The final took time to unfold. For four minutes, each judoka neutralised the other, neither able to break through or impose a definitive rhythm. A golden score period was required to separate them and the wait proved worthwhile. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mukunoki delivered a superb uchi-mata, executed with precision and elegance, securing ippon and claiming her first grand slam gold medal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Men’s +100 kg<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 1. BATKHUYAG Gonchigsuren (MGL)<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2. BASHAEV Tamerlan (RUS)<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3. KOKAURI Ushangi (AZE)<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3. DEMETRASHVILI Irakli (GEO)<\/p>\n\n\n\n 5. SPIJKERS Jur (NED)<\/p>\n\n\n\n 5. GAMZATKHANOV Dzhamal (AZE)<\/p>\n\n\n\n 7. BATCHAEV Denis (RUS)<\/p>\n\n\n\n 7. LI Haiyang (CHN)<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1. ADAMIAN Arman (RUS)<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2. BIFOV Idar (RUS)<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3. SHERAZADISHVILI Nikoloz (ESP)<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3. GONCALVES Leonardo (BRA)<\/p>\n\n\n\n 5. VEG Zsombor (HUN)<\/p>\n\n\n\n 5. CATHARINA Simeon (NED)<\/p>\n\n\n\n 7. BRASNJOVIC Darko (SRB)<\/p>\n\n\n\n 7. MADZHIDOV Dzhakhongir (TJK)<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1. BEKAURI Lasha (GEO)<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2. LATISEV Mihail (MDA)<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3. SOGENOV Islam (SRB)<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3. MAJDOV Nemanja (SRB)<\/p>\n\n\n\n 5. FATIYEV Murad (AZE)<\/p>\n\n\n\n 5. KIM Jonghoon (KOR)<\/p>\n\n\n\n 7. ABDUJALILZODA Muhammadjon (TJK)<\/p>\n\n\n\n 7. TSELIDIS Theodoros (GRE)<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1. OLEK Anna Monta (GER)<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2. BELLANDI Alice (ITA)<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3. SUGIMURA Mizuki (JPN)<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3. ISSOUFI Kaila (FRA)<\/p>\n\n\n\n 5. STEENHUIS Guusje (NED)<\/p>\n\n\n\n 5. LANIR Inbar (ISR)<\/p>\n\n\n\n 7. BOEHM Alina (GER)<\/p>\n\n\n\n 7. LYTVYNENKO Yelyzaveta (UAE)<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1. MUKUNOKI Miki (JPN)<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2. NIU Xinran (CHN)<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3. MISHINER Yuli Alma (ISR)<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3. SIMONETTI Erica (ITA)<\/p>\n\n\n\n 5. M BAIRO Anne Fatoumata (FRA)<\/p>\n\n\n\n 5. DAMBADARJAA Nominzul (MGL)<\/p>\n\n\n\n 7. SOPPI MBELLA Richelle Anita (CMR)<\/p>\n\n\n\n 7. IVANOVA Mariia (RUS)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Where many categories took time to settle, the +100 kg division at the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam judo<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6637,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[106],"class_list":["post-6636","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","tag-judo"],"aioseo_notices":[],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Judo_compressed.jpg",1994,1125,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Judo_compressed-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Judo_compressed-300x169.jpg",300,169,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Judo_compressed-768x433.jpg",640,361,true],"large":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Judo_compressed-1024x578.jpg",640,361,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Judo_compressed-1536x867.jpg",1536,867,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Judo_compressed.jpg",1994,1125,false],"morenews-large":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Judo_compressed-825x575.jpg",825,575,true],"morenews-medium":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Judo_compressed-590x410.jpg",590,410,true]},"author_info":{"info":["admin"]},"category_info":"International<\/a>","tag_info":"International","comment_count":"0","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Judo_compressed.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6636","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6636"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6636\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6639,"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6636\/revisions\/6639"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6637"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6636"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6636"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6636"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Men’s -100 kg<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Men’s -90 kg)<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Women’s -78 kg)<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Women’s +78 kg<\/h4>\n\n\n\n