Dushanbe Grand Slam, Day 1 - Preliminaries

-66 kg

Nurali Emomali (TJK) was the talk of the arena as he delivered nail-biting finishes and entertaining throws to reach the -66kg final. With the enthusiastic crowd right behind him every step of the way, Emomali gave them exactly what they wanted, a chance to win gold and hear Tajikistan’s anthem on the first day of this highly anticipated grand slam.

The Tajik federation had hoped that Obid Dzhebov would join him but it wasn’t to be. He was knocked out by Iago Abuladze (RUS) in his first contest. Abuladze was then beaten in the semi-final by 24-year-old Azizbek Ortikov (UZB), a judoka with just one point of reference on the WJT prior to Dushanbe, a bronze in Tbilisi last year. Emomali might thing he has the gold in the bag but nothing is ever clear cut in judo, not until the gong sounds.

-48 kg

At -48 kg, Amber Gersjes (NED) pulled out all the stops to reach only her second grand slam final block ever. She placed 5th in Tbilisi in 2022 but no other results followed at this level. Four grand prix bronzes point to her potential but in Dushanbe she has finally realised it, reaching the final after some spectacular wins.

At 28, Gersjes could expect this to be her last Olympic cycle, a last chance to arrive at an Olympic village, so her performance in Dushanbe could not have come at a better time. Either result will propel her up the World Ranking List and perhaps even secure her invitation to the World Judo Masters at the end of the year.

Anudari Jamsran of Mongolia would be waiting for Gersjes in the final, a teenager with last year’s Dushanbe title to defend. She defeated Slack (POL) on penalties, Khakimova (UZB) by osaekomi and then, in the semi-final, Legoux Celment (FRA) by a single yuko scored via an o-uchi-gari. Jamsran looks strong on paper but that means nothing under the spotlights of the Qasri Tennis arena.

-52 kg

Double Olympic medallist and 2024 world champion Odette Giuffrida (ITA) arrived in Tajikistan as the clear favourite at -52 kg. The number one seed was looking to strengthen her position in the world rankings and secure one last gold medal before the Olympic qualification period is launched next month.

Giuffrida did as she planned, wiping out all opposition en route to the final where she would face Poland’s Aleksandra Kaleta, an athlete with a single senior result to her name, logged in Antalya in 2021. A one-sided contest could be predicted, heavily weighted in the Italian’s favour, but let’s wait and see what the unpredictability of judo throws into the mix!

-60 kg

Ayub Bliev has appeared in the final block of each of his last 7 grand slam appearances, only missing the podium once. He’s almost a sure thing in judo terms and in Dushanbe, arriving as the top seed, he extended that trend even further.

Breaking local hearts not once but twice, he armlocked Ikrom Shamsov (TJK) and threw Loiq Kudbudinov (TJK) for ippon; just two of his contests on the way to the final. There he will face the less well decorated Artem Lesiuk (UKR), usually just as happy to work on the ground as Bliev is, making this an interesting pairing.

-57 kg

Eighteen-year-old Ariunzaya Terbish (MGL) has already tasted the sweetness of victory. Cadet world champion in 2024 and already a grand slam medallist, she has also contested the final of the last two Asian senior championships. She is truly one to watch for the future.

In Dushanbe she had little trouble reaching the final and will be aiming to continue in that vein all the way to the top step of the podium. Attempting to stop her ascent will be Olga Mukhina (RUS), a judoka with no reference at the senior level but who proved herself to be a well prepared competitor in the morning session.

The final offers up a 23 vs 223 world ranking match. There have been upsets before and there is no doubt that there will be upsets again; in judo nothing is written in advance but Terbish would be disappointed with silver.

The final block will begin at 5pm local time and can be followed live on JudoTV.com.