-73 kg: The Return of a Champion
All eyes will be on Olympic champion Hidayat Heydarov (AZE). Expected in Paris but finally returning to the tatami in Tashkent, Heydarov arrives determined to reassert himself. After an extraordinary 2024 season marked by invincibility, 2025 proved more challenging. Could 2026 mark his resurgence at the very top?
Home favourite Shakhram Ahadov (UZB), Asian champion in 2025, will draw tremendous energy from the local crowd. Competing on home soil could provide the spark needed to push him towards gold. Danil Lavrentev (RUS), finalist at the Casablanca Open earlier this year, has regained competitive rhythm and now aims to raise his level further in pursuit of a podium finish. With depth throughout the draw, predicting the outcome in this category is anything but straightforward.
-63 kg: Canadian Strength and World-Class Depth
Catherine Beauchemin-Pinard (CAN) is the benchmark in this division. A model of consistency at the highest level, she has proven time and again that she can defeat anyone on the circuit. With six grand slam titles and eleven podium finishes, she enters Tashkent as the athlete to beat.
Iva Oberan (CRO), fifth in Paris despite being top seed, will be eager to demonstrate that result was only a minor setback. Joanne Van Lieshout (NED), third in Paris and world champion in 2024, certainly has the credentials to climb higher. Yet the field does not stop there. Manon Deketer (FRA), Angelika Szymanska (POL) and, notably, Jessica Klimkait (CAN), an -57 kg world champion and Olympic medallist, add extraordinary depth. Klimkait, in particular, remains a formidable contender for at least a place on the podium.
-81 kg: A Battle of Proven Winners
Much like the -63 kg category, the top seed is Canadian. François Gauthier-Drapeau (CAN) brings explosive, versatile judo and already owns two grand slam titles, won in Paris and Abu Dhabi in 2025. Tashkent could be the stage for his third.
Zelim Tckaev (AZE), who left Paris with silver and a sense of unfinished business, will be highly motivated for a potential final showdown. Somon Makhmadbekov (TJK) could well disrupt the script, chasing his own third grand slam title. Let us not forget Vedat Albayrak, a four-time grand slam winner, whose experience and tactical sharpness make him a constant threat.
-70 kg: Ambition Meets Olympic Pedigree
Aoife Coughlan (AUS), Australia’s most successful female judoka nowadays, continues her pursuit of a first grand slam title after two previous final appearances. Already a double grand prix winner, she has the tools to go all the way.
Standing in her path is Paris 2024 Olympic silver medallist Miriam Butkereit (GER), who also secured world bronze in 2025 at the world championships. A formidable opponent by any measure. Irene Pedrotti (ITA), just outside the medals in Paris, will seek her breakthrough grand slam podium, while teammate Giorgia Stangherlin, already a grand slam gold medallist, adds further Italian firepower. With several dark horses capable of causing upsets, this category promises intensity from start to finish.
Day two in Tashkent is shaping up to be electric. Established champions will defend their status, contenders will chase defining victories and the crowd will witness the next chapter in the ever-evolving story of the World Judo Tour on JudoTV.com and on all our platforms.