Olympic qualification in judo for the 2028 Games starts in Ulaanbaatar: results of the 2026 Grand Slam

The Olympic cycle in world judo has officially begun. The first ranking points of the qualification period for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games were awarded at the Grand Slam tournament in Ulaanbaatar.

This tournament marked the start of the new Olympic race. The results of the competition will count towards the Olympic qualification ranking, which will determine the world’s leading judoka who earn the right to compete at the 2028 Games. In each weight category, the strongest athletes of the qualification cycle will be selected through the ranking system.

The opening days of the tournament already showed that the new Olympic cycle promises to be extremely competitive. Even favourite status and a high ranking did not guarantee success: in several weight categories, top contenders were eliminated before the decisive stages, while the battle for the first Olympic points was highly intense.

Japan were the dominant force of the tournament. Japanese judoka won eight gold medals and confidently topped the overall medal table. South Korea, Italy, Azerbaijan, Mongolia, the UAE, France and representatives of Russia also performed successfully.

The Armenian national team did not take part in this tournament. Armen Adamian, competing in the 100 kg category for Russia, finished in 5th place. Aram Grigorian of the UAE lost in the round of 64 in the 90 kg category, while Karen Galstyan of Russia was defeated in the round of 16 in the 73 kg category.

Results of the Ulaanbaatar Grand Slam

Men

60 kg

Balabay Aghayev — Azerbaijan
Ryuju Nagayama — Japan
Sukhbat Byambasuren — Mongolia
Izhak Ashpiz — Israel

66 kg

Takeshi Takeoka — Japan
Ramazan Abdulaev — Russia
Nizami Imranov — Azerbaijan
Kim Chang-yong — South Korea

73 kg

Akhzaya Lavjargal — Mongolia
Jack Yonezuka — Japan
Viktor Skerlev — Bulgaria
Uranbayar Odgerel — Mongolia

81 kg

Yunhwan Lee — South Korea
Yuhei Oino — Japan
Timur Arbuzov — Russia
Mihailo Simin — Serbia

90 kg

Sanshiro Murao — Japan
Yonghun Kim — South Korea
Boris Rutovic — Serbia
Murad Fatiyev — Azerbaijan

100 kg

Gennaro Pirelli — Italy
Ibar Bifov — Russia
Ilia Sulamanidze — Georgia
Zelym Kotsoiev — Azerbaijan

Over 100 kg

Minjong Kim — South Korea
Irakli Demetrashvili — Georgia
Jur Spijkers — Netherlands
Inal Tasoev — Russia

Women

48 kg

Wakana Koga — Japan
Wenna Zheng — China
Tugce Beder — Turkey
Laura Martinez Abelenda — Spain

52 kg

Uta Abe — Japan
Odette Giuffrida — Italy
Reka Pupp — Hungary
Khorloodoi Bishrelt — UAE

57 kg

Akari Omori — Japan
Sarah-Leonie Cysique — France
Seija Ballhaus — Germany
Maysa Pardayeva — Turkmenistan

63 kg

Haruka Kazu — Japan
Joanne van Lieshout — Netherlands
Dali Liluashvili — Russia
Lubjana Piovesana — Austria

70 kg

Shiho Tanaka — Japan
Aoife Coughlan — Australia
Sanne van Dijke — Netherlands
Lara Cvjetko — Croatia

78 kg

Elizaveta Litvinenko — UAE
Audrey Tcheumeo — France
Alina Boehm — Germany
Brenda Olaya — Colombia

Over 78 kg

Mao Arai — Japan
Romane Dicko — France
Asya Tavano — Italy
Celia Cancan — France

Medal table

Japan — 8 gold, 2 silver
South Korea — 2 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze
Italy — 1 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze
Azerbaijan — 1 gold, 3 bronze
Mongolia — 1 gold, 2 bronze
UAE — 1 gold, 1 bronze
France — 3 silver, 1 bronze
Russia — 2 silver, 3 bronze

The tournament in Ulaanbaatar became the first major reference point of the new Olympic cycle. Judoka still face a long qualification journey, but the first points may already play an important role in the race for places at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.