-60 kg
In the lighter of the two men’s categories in contention, Olympic and world silver medallist Yung-Wei Yang was the top seed and certainly an awkward adversary for everyone else in the field. But in a category in which the local delegation are used to success, his place in the final block was no guaranteed. Remember this is the home of 2024 Olympic champion Yeldos Smetov. He might not be fighting at home this time round but his legacy is obvious and the team coming up behind him is skilled and dangerous.
Yang had a difficult route the the semi-final, a tight waza-ari win over D Angelo (ITA) and then a shido-based victory against unlikely quart-finalist Harsh Singh (IND) put him up against Talgat Orynbassar(KAZ) and that was a fight too far, Yang losing after being countered skilfully by the home athlete.
It is worth noting that Singh had a brilliant morning, using his tomoe-nage expertly to unbalance opponents who were sure they would walk past him. In judo, never underestimate anyone!
On the other half of the draw, Sherzod Davlatov (KAZ) almost made it a Kazakh derby in the final but he was pipped at the post by Sukhbat Byambasuren (MGL).
-48 kg
This was a category of two very different halves, the top half leading to the top seeds being knocked out of the running for gold, while on the bottom half the ranking was respected more readily. Narantsetseg Ganbaatar (MGL) sailed through to the final while her opposition would not be top seed and teammate Anudari Jamsran, beaten by Shafag Hamidova (AZE) in their quarter-final.
However, it wasn’t Hamidova who earned the right to fight Ganbaatar for gold. That honour was reserved for last week’s Dushanbe Grand Slam silver medallist; her first grand slam medal. Now Amber Gersjes (NED) is in her second final in as many weeks on the World Judo Tour and showing that her form was not a fluke. This is a showing of consistency and well executed preparation.
Jamsran was unable to recover satisfactorily and went on to lose in the repechage too, making way for Italian veteran Francesca Milani to appear in then final clock. She hasn’t won a World Judo Tour medal since 2023 but showed her intentions at the 2026 Tashkent Grand Slam where she placed 5th.
-52 kg
Nandin-Erdine Myagmarsuren (MGL) began the day at the top of her draw sheet but she was unable to hold position, falling against Liliia Nugaeva (RUS) in their quarter-final. It was a 5-score contest, all go from the first “hajime;” it could have gone either way. The Russian competitor was able to edge it though and earned a place in the final block, albeit not to fight for gold as Blandine Pont secured that honour with a golden score victory against her.
Pont will face Khorloodoi Bishrelt (UAE), the number two seed, in the final. Bishrelt stormed to the final winning in a variety of ways, showing her adaptability and strength. It will be an exciting final!
-66 kg
This was a category with considerable Pan-American interest. Ronald Lima (BRA) was the number one seed after placing in the top eight at several recent events, while his compatriot Willian Lima (no relation), the 2024 Olympic silver medallist was also a contender. However, neither made it past the second round.
Central Asia had the lion’s share of the final block places but two of the Russian Federation athletes were also in place, one ready to fight for gold against Abdurakhim Nutfulloev (UZB).
The home team could also anticipate a Kazakh flag being present during the medal ceremony as two of their athletes had made it to the bronze medal contests, one athlete in each. Nurkhanat Serikbayev and Akylzhan Zhubatkanov would not have easy routes to the podium but with the crowd behind them, it was certain that the athletes and the spectators would deliver their very best attempt.
-57 kg
Faiza Mokdar and Chloe Devictor did exactly what they came to Astana to do and reached an all-French shared final, not looking back at any time to see who might be chasing them. Mokdar began as the number one and in theory should have had an easier run than her teammate. In fact, Mokdar was in devastating form and bulldozed her way to the final with absolutey no cracks appearing in her armour.
Devictor certainly had a tough line-up ahead of her at the beginning of the day but she approached the challenged admirably, even throwing world medallist Roza Gyertyas (HUN) for a yuko and then ippon. The final would be a battle for supremacy within the French contingent, but in the absence of their own double Olympic medallist Sarah-Leonie Cysique.
The final block begins at 5pm local time and can be followed live on JudoTV.com as always.