Martha Fawaz captured the women’s -57kg gold medal at the 2026 Abu Dhabi Grand Slam on Thursday, defeating Brazil’s Shirlen Nascimento in a hard-fought final to secure her second career title on the IJF circuit, as reported by L’Esprit du Judo.
Fawaz Overcomes Final Deficit to Claim Gold
Competing at the first major international event following the world championships in Baku, Fawaz entered the tournament as the world No. 9 and the No. 3 seed. Her path to the final required three victories secured by yuko: first against Germany’s Laila Goebel, ranked 136th; then against Britain’s 17th-ranked Acelya Toprak; and a tough golden score battle against Croatia’s 7th-ranked Ana Viktorija Puljiz, according to L’Esprit du Judo. Martha Fawaz’s journey to the top of the podium follows a challenging period that included cervical surgery in October 2025.
In the final against Nascimento—who won the Champions League with PSG Judo in Paris less than a week prior—Fawaz fell behind after conceding two waza-ari scores from right-sided ippon-seoi-nage. However, the Orléans judoka maintained her composure and utilized clinical ashi-waza techniques, landing o-uchi-gari and o-soto-gari to level the score and ultimately seal the victory.
Buchard Takes Silver in International Return
Amandine Buchard secured the silver medal in the -52kg category, marking her return to the tatami after a six-month absence. The double Olympic medalist had not competed internationally since taking silver at the European Championships in Tbilissi last April.
Buchard advanced through the preliminary rounds with controlled performances, including a sweep against Hungary’s Rozya Gyertyas. In the final, she faced Croatia’s Tihea Topolovec, the world No. 65. Topolovec secured victory with a right-sided uchi-mata with roughly fifteen seconds remaining on the clock. Following the bout, Buchard acknowledged that her intense desire to prove herself after missing the world championships had clouded her competitive mindset.
Unexpected Upsets Shape the Opening Day
Elsewhere on the tatami, Mélanie Legoux-Clément reached the -48kg semifinals but missed out on a podium finish, losing the bronze medal match to Russia’s Marina Vorobeva via kata-gatame on the ground. In the men’s division, Kelvin Ray of PSG Judo was eliminated in the eighth finals by Bahrain’s Sukhrob Boqiev, ranked 277th globally, who surprised observers by executing a sharp o-uchi-gaeshi.
Boqiev subsequently went on to win the tournament under the guidance of coach Kamal Khan-Magomedov. L’Esprit du Judo noted that the triumph highlights the growing impact of Khan-Magomedov’s tactical training with international athletes outside traditional powerhouse federations.
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