Ai TSUNODA ROUSTANT (ESP) took the Paris Grand Slam title in 2023, defeating top names on the way to the top, and today she came with the same energy in to the final against HONDA Mayu (JPN). Heading in to golden score against a very tough opponent, Tsunoda piled on the pressure and was relentless in her bid to take the title, then at 42 seconds, a sharp drop morote seoi nage gave her an unbelievable finish. Whilst Tsunoda is typically very collected in her wins, on this occasion it was clear that this win was a huge relief for her.

For Luka MAISURADZE (GEO), it was a scary return to competition in the -90kg category with a first round loss in the Rome European Open toward the end of 2024, but following this he took an incredible silver medal in the Tokyo Grand Slam, and assisted his team Golden Gori to a bronze medal in the European Club Championships – Champions League in December. Now returning to the IJF World Judo Tour, the Paris Grand Slam, he was continuing his great form, defeating the current World Champion TAJIKA Goki (JPN) for a place in the final. KIM Jonghoon (KOR) was his last opponent, a judoka quite fresh on the scene with no Grand Slam result to his name, however he was the slayer of champions today and after exactly five minutes of fighting, Kim found his way with a deep morote seoi nage for the ultimate win.
In the -78kg category, we had two Olympic medallists going head to head; Patricia SAMPAIO (POR) and Inbar LANIR (ISR), the latter coming out on top on the past two occasions. This time however, Sampaio had prepared to control Lanir’s gripping, and this really prevented her from executing her big techniques, instead, Sampaio scored the ippon with a drop morote seoi nage. There was no big celebration, simply containing her excitement before the score and her Paris Grand Slam title confirmed.


Lea FONTAINE (FRA) was the only French athlete to stand on top of the podium today, and after a great performance in the preliminary rounds, she faced LEE Hyeonji (KOR) in the gold medal contest. Unfortunately it ended with an injury for Lee, leading to the win for Fontaine.

The arena stayed packed until the final moment as everyone anticipated a huge final between the former World and current European Champion, Inal TASOEV (IJF) and LEE Seungyeob (KOR). Unfortunately, the big action was held off until the pair entered golden score, and Tasoev finally delivered. The Bercy crowd loved it and were on their feet for a popular man here in France, despite his big rivalry with their hero, Teddy RINER. Tasoev was swift and arguably one of the most nimble in the heavyweight category, and all appreciate his skill and ability.


Judoka
Author: Thea Cowen