Abu Dhabi Grand Slam judo: Azerbaijan lead as eight nations share first nine golds

Azerbaijan, France, Croatia, Poland and Portugal were among eight nations to strike gold over the first two days of the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam judo at the Mubadala Arena, with the IJF World Tour event reaching its final day on Saturday, 31 October 2026. Nine titles were decided across Thursday and Friday, with first-time Grand Slam champions and a 277th-ranked outsider grabbing much of the attention.

Day one: Aghayev delivers, Boqiev stuns the field

Thursday's five lightweight categories produced two golds for Azerbaijan. Konul Aliyeva won the women's -48kg final against Türkiye's Merve Azak, while top seed Balabay Aghayev took the men's -60kg title with an ippon against 18-year-old Loiq Kudbudinov. Aghayev, who had previously left Abu Dhabi with a bronze, said he was happy to upgrade it to gold.

The biggest surprise came at -66kg. Sukhrob Boqiev of Bahrain, ranked 277th in the world according to Euronews, reached his first World Tour final and beat Iago Abuladze to win the title.

In the women's -52kg, Croatia's Tihea Topolovec scored a waza-ari against French Olympic medallist Amandine Buchard to collect her first Grand Slam gold. France did celebrate at -57kg, where Martha Fawaz beat Brazil's Shirlen Nascimento with two waza-ari scores, from o soto gari and o uchi gari, for her second Grand Slam crown.

Day two: a run of breakthrough wins

Friday's four middleweight finals continued the theme of new names on the podium's top step.

• Women's -63kg: Poland's Angelika Szymanska beat Hungary's Anna Kriza by waza-ari, a result described as a strong start to her Olympic qualification campaign.
• Women's -70kg: Portugal's Taís Pina pinned Brazil's Kaillany Cardoso with about four seconds left, reversing a defeat to the same opponent at the Budapest Grand Slam a month earlier. Portuguese daily A Bola reported it is the 22-year-old's second Grand Slam gold, after her 2024 win in Kazakhstan.
• Men's -73kg: Hassan Doukkali used a feint to set up a yuko against Tajikistan's Masudi Ahmadzod. Reports describe it as Morocco's first Grand Slam gold.
• Men's -81kg: Moldova's Petru Pelivan edged Finland's Eetu Ihanamaki with a ko uchi gari for yuko, the first Grand Slam gold of his career.

Szymanska summed up her day simply: "Today I really expected a good result," she told Euronews.

Medal picture after two days

JudoInside's medal table after Friday had Azerbaijan on top with two golds and two bronzes, followed by France (one gold, one silver) and Croatia (one gold, one bronze). Eight different nations had won the nine titles so far: Azerbaijan, Croatia, France, Bahrain, Poland, Portugal, Morocco and Moldova. Each gold is worth €5,000 in prize money, split between judoka and coach, from a total purse of €154,000.

Saturday's heavyweight finale

Five categories close the event on Saturday: men's -90kg, -100kg and +100kg, and women's -78kg and +78kg. At -90kg, Serbia's top seed Nemanja Majdov and Italy's Christian Parlati were drawn in the same quarter. The men's heavyweight field includes Finland's Martti Puumalainen, Georgia's Irakli Demetrashvili and Azerbaijan's Ushangi Kokauri. Portugal's Patricia Sampaio and France's Madeleine Malonga lead the women's -78kg, and Israel's Olympic silver medallist Raz Hershko is the big name at +78kg.

Abu Dhabi is four hours behind Malaysia (UTC+4 against UTC+8), so Saturday's final block will run in the evening Malaysia time. Fans in Southeast Asia can follow the action on the IJF's own live streaming and results platforms.

Why it matters

The Abu Dhabi Grand Slam is one of the World Tour's biggest stops and comes early in qualification for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics. Ranking points at Grand Slam level are valuable, which is why first-time winners such as Pelivan and Topolovec matter so much: they now have a strong head start on the long road to LA.

Key takeaways

• Nine of the 14 titles were decided on 29-30 October, shared among eight nations.
• Azerbaijan led after two days thanks to Konul Aliyeva (-48kg) and Balabay Aghayev (-60kg).
• Bahrain's Sukhrob Boqiev, ranked 277th, won -66kg in his first World Tour final.
• Morocco's Hassan Doukkali and Moldova's Petru Pelivan both won their first Grand Slam golds.
• Five heavyweight categories finish the event on Saturday, 31 October.

FAQ

Q: Where and when is the 2026 Abu Dhabi Grand Slam? A: At the Mubadala Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, from 29 to 31 October 2026.

Q: Who was the biggest surprise winner so far? A: Bahrain's Sukhrob Boqiev, ranked 277th in the world, who won the men's -66kg title in his first World Tour final.

Q: What time is the final day in Malaysia? A: Abu Dhabi is four hours behind Malaysia, so Saturday's final block runs in the evening Malaysia time (MYT, UTC+8).

Sources: Euronews, JudoInside, A Bola, International Judo Federation