Gennaro Pirelli Wins Gold at Budapest Judo Grand Slam in Olympic Qualifier

A Dominant Run on the Budapest Tatami

Pirelli opened his campaign on the tatami in Budapest by defeating Japan’s Kasai using two yuko scores. According to reports from the official Italian Judo, Karate, Martial Arts and Wrestling Federation (FIJLKAM), the Italian athlete maintained a high physical tempo and precise tactical execution through subsequent rounds. He eliminated Great Britain’s Gregory and Romania’s Arsenie before meeting Russia’s Bilalov in the semifinals—a rematch of their European semifinal encounter in April.

In the final, Pirelli faced Portugal’s Fonseca. Managing the bout with calculated grip fighting and varied attacks from right to left, Pirelli overcame Fonseca to claim the gold medal. Reflecting on his tactical choices after the match, Pirelli noted that varying his strategy against top-tier opponents paid off.

“Oggi mi sentivo benissimo ed è esattamente la carica di motivazione di cui avevo bisogno in vista dei Mondiali. Contro avversari del calibro del portoghese e del giapponese, mi sono concentrato sulla battaglia per la presa (kumikata) e sul variare la strategia d’attacco da destra a sinistra, una scelta che ha ripagato al meglio,” Pirelli stated, as documented by FIJLKAM and Sportmediaset. “Vincere l’oro ai Mondiali è il mio sogno da sempre. Mi fido ciecamente delle mie capacità e del mio allenatore, che mi aiuta a rimanere concentrato un passo alla volta. Da buon napoletano scaramantico, il mio unico pensiero ora è rientrare in palestra già martedì per continuare a lavorare.”

Performance of the Italian Delegation in Budapest

The final day of competition at the Budapest Grand Slam brought mixed outcomes for the rest of the Italian team. In the under-90 kg category, Kenny Komi Bedel of Fiamme Oro advanced past Austria’s Schrfetter and the Czech Republic’s Kopecky before losing to Serbia’s Rutovic in the quarterfinals. Bedel then dropped a repechage bout to Great Britain’s Moorhead, who utilized a morote-reverse technique to relegate the Italian to a seventh-place finish. Federation officials noted that Bedel’s seventh-place finish provides important ranking points for Olympic qualification.

Christian Parlati, also representing Fiamme Oro in the under-90 kg division, started his day with a win over France’s Mathieu. However, his tournament ended controversially in a match against Moldova’s Latsiev. While leading by a waza-ari, Parlati sustained an injury during a ground-fighting sequence that was ruled legal by the refereeing commission. Raffaele Toniolo addressed the incident publicly, expressing dissatisfaction with the sequence that led to the injury.

“La straordinaria vittoria di Gennaro Pirelli rappresenta il manifesto del nostro valore… Purtroppo, la nota negativa della giornata riguarda l’infortunio di Christian Parlati, causato direttamente da un’azione non corretta dell’avversario. Episodi del genere non dovrebbero mai verificarsi sul tatami e sarebbe opportuno cercare di prevenirli, poiché mettono a repentaglio l’incolumità degli atleti,” Toniolo said in statements released by FIJLKAM.

In the women’s under-78 kg category, Claudia Sperotti of Fiamme Azzurre was eliminated in the opening round.

Road to the World Championships

With the Budapest Grand Slam concluded, the International Judo Federation World Tour moves toward its next major milestone. The upcoming World Championships are scheduled to take place in Baku, Azerbaijan, running from October 4 through October 10, 2026. Pirelli enters the global competition carrying top-tier momentum from his victories in Budapest, Mongolia, and Peru.