In the -73 kg category, not one of the top four seeds made it to the final block, each knocked out in the preliminaries or the repechage, unexpected departures and some new names to take note of.
Sixth seed Hassan Doukkali (MAR) ensured an African flag would rise above the podium of the Mubadala Arena when he passed Romanian, French, Georgian and Russian opponents on his way to the final. This is his 15th World Judo Tour appearance. Top eight finishes have been earned previously but never a medal so this will be a landmark event for him and Morocco regardless of the final result.
Eighth seed, a certain Olympic and world champion by the name of Hidayat Heydarov, worked his way towards the final too but was beaten in the semi-final by 24-year-old Masudi Ahmadzod (TJK) who, until now, had only a single WJT medal to his name.
At -63 kg, there was a story a little more heavily weighted towards the ranking, one of the top four making it to the final and another reaching a bronze medal contest. World silver medallist Angelika Szymanska (POL) had a particularly strong morning. In a close semi-final against Olympic medallist Laura Fazliu (KOS), she had to dig deep to find the power to overcome the challenge but she did.
In the heavier of the two women’s categories of the day, two of the younger generation stepped up to take their places in the final. Tais Pina (POR), already an Olympian at 20 years old, showed her promise when she won the Qazaqstan Barysy Grand Slam in 2024. The now 22 year old has not been able to cling on to momentum since then but in Abu Dhabi her form was not in doubt.
Also 22, Kaillany Cardoso (BRA) had to defeat the top seed of the -70 kg group, Aoife Coughlan, to reach the final. She did so coming from a yuko behind, scoring two of her own; a gutsy performance that would have given her confidence as she goes int the gold medal contest.
At -81 kg, the top two of the draw followed the plan exactly to end the day fighting for gold. Eetu Ihanamaki (FIN) is another product of Rok Draksic’s programme in Finland. Ihanamaki first showed his international intention when he won a bronze medal at the European u23 Championships three years ago. Since then he has been patient, hard-working and progressive, making his way, step by step, towards the top level. He won his first grand prix medal in Guadalajara in 2025. This will be his first grand slam medal and another milestone in a burgeoning career.
Petru Pelivan, on the other hand, already has eight World Judo Tour medals including a World Judo Masters bronze. The experience level is different but the final result of this contest remains unknown.
Tune in to JudoTV.com to see how each of the categories pan out. There is much to be excited about.