Italian judokas Carlotta Avanzato and Giorgia Stangherlin finished in fifth place at the Grand Slam of Abu Dhabi on October 30, 2026, marking the closest the national delegation has come to a podium finish during the second day of the tournament at the Mubadala Arena. While neither athlete secured a medal, both results represent significant points in the qualification ranking for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.
Carlotta Avanzato, competing in the -63 kg category, achieved her best result of the year on the World Tour. The 24-year-old from Rome defeated China’s Jun Li and later secured a win against the host nation’s Tsendbazar Mashbat in the repechage. However, she was defeated in the quarterfinals by Poland’s Angelika Szymanska and subsequently lost the bronze medal match to Slovenia’s Kaja Kajzer Zabkar. Fijlkam.it reported that Avanzato was penalized three times during her final bout, which ultimately determined the outcome.
In the -70 kg division, Giorgia Stangherlin also finished fifth. Her path to the final block included a victory over Nika Koren of Slovenia and a win against Germany’s Dena Pohl in the repechage. Stangherlin was unable to overcome Brazilian opponents Kaillany Cardoso and Luana Carvalho, falling to the latter in the bronze medal match. Fijlkam.it noted that Stangherlin was defeated by yuko in her final contest for the podium.
Results from the Italian delegation
The remainder of the Italian team exited the tournament during the preliminary rounds. Irene Pedrotti, also competing in the -70 kg category, was eliminated in her opening match by Brazil’s Kaillany Cardoso. In the men’s categories, the team experienced a series of early exits. Giovanni Esposito lost his debut match in the -73 kg division to Abdulaev of the UAE, while Leonardo Valeriani won his opening bout against Turkey’s Demirel before being eliminated by Georgia’s Chikhelidze.
CARLOTTAAAA 🤩Indovinate chi è ancora protagonista al Grand Slam di Abu Dhabi?Esatto, l’Italia del judoooooo! 🥋💙Avanzato si prende il terzo posto nei -63 kg battendo la canadese Jessica Klimkait!Dajeeeee 💫#ItaliaTeam @FijlkamOfficial pic.twitter.com/yII9Q9SA8k
The -81 kg category saw Vincenzo Pelligra defeated by Bahrain’s Gasanov and Antonio Esposito eliminated by Kote Gochilaidze of Georgia. Savita Russo, returning to competition in the -63 kg division, was stopped in her first match by Croatia’s Iva Oberan, as documented by Fijlkam.it. These results follow a seventh-place finish by Kenya Perna in the -52 kg category during the opening day of the event.
Tournament podiums in Abu Dhabi
The second day of the Grand Slam saw several international athletes reach the podium across four weight classes. The following table summarizes the medalists as reported by Sport2u.tv:
| Category | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| -63 kg F | Angelika Szymanska (POL) | Szofi Kriza (HUN) | Kaja Kajzer Zabkar (SLO) / Laura Fazliu (KOS) |
| -70 kg F | Tais Pina (POR) | Kaillany Cardoso (BRA) | Luana Carvalho (BRA) / Aoife Coughlan (AUS) |
| -73 kg M | Hassan Doukkali (MAR) | Abubakr Ahmadzod (TJK) | Hidayat Heydarov (AZE) / Karen Galstian (RUS) |
| -81 kg M | Petru Pelivan (MDA) | Eero Ihanamaki (FIN) | Kote Gochilaidze (GEO) / Jarne Tsurkan (SLO) |
Final day of competition
The Grand Slam of Abu Dhabi concludes on October 31, 2026. The final day of the tournament will feature Claudia Sperotti in the -78 kg category, alongside Erica Simonetti and Asya Tavano in the +78 kg division. The men’s competition will continue with Christian Parlati and Kenny Komi Bedel in the -90 kg category, and Daniele Accogli in the -100 kg division. Matches are scheduled to be broadcast on the official World Tour streaming platform, judo.tv.
Worth a look
