Qazaqstan Barysy Grand Slam Judo Opens with Gold Medalists in Astana

The Qazaqstan Barysy Grand Slam judo tournament opened in Astana on May 8, 2026, with European athletes dominating the women’s lightweight categories and Mongolia securing a gold medal in the men’s division. The event, which runs from May 8 to May 10, represents the second stop of the Central Asian swing following the Dushanbe Grand Slam held the previous week.

In the men’s -60kg category, Sukhbat Byambasuren of Mongolia claimed his first Grand Slam gold medal. Byambasuren defeated Talgat Orynbassar of Kazakhstan in the final. Orynbassar, competing in his home tournament for the second consecutive year, earned a silver medal for the second year running.

Following the match, Byambasuren commented on the experience of competing against a local athlete.

It wasn’t really a problem for me to fight against the home country, I just wanted to show my Judo and I’m happy that I did it.

Sukhbat Byambasuren

Nurlan Zhakupov, the CEO of the Sovereign Wealth Fund “Sumruk-Kaznya,” presented the medals for the -60kg category. Kazakhstan celebrated a total of two medals on the first day of competition, including Orynbassar’s silver.

European Dominance in Women’s Categories

European judoka swept all of the women’s gold medals on May 8, 2026. In the -48kg final, Amber Gersjes of the Netherlands secured her first Grand Slam gold medal by defeating Mongolia’s Narantsetseg Ganbaatar. Gersjes managed to overcome Ganbaatar, who previously held a 3-0 head-to-head lead, by scoring a yuko with a de-ashi-harai in the final minute of the match.

Gersjes, who had earned a silver medal the previous week, attributed her victory to increased patience and confidence.

I’ve been working on being more patient, and after last week I definitely got a boost of confidence and was like okay, this week is going to be mine. So I just needed to get it, and I did so.

Amber Gersjes

The medals for the -48kg category were awarded by Yerbol Myrzabossynov, the Minister of Tourism and Sports of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

France’s Blandine Pont also secured gold in the -52kg final, defeating Khorloodoi Bishrelt of the UAE with a yuko. Additional gold medals on the opening day were claimed by Abdurakhim Nutfulloev and Faiza Mokdar.

Additional Medal Results

Several other European athletes reached the podium during the first day of competition. In the women’s -48kg category, Italy’s Francesca Milani earned a bronze medal after defeating Chen-Hao Lin of Chinese Taipei. Russia’s Kristina Dudina also secured a bronze medal in the -48kg category by scoring two waza-aris against Azerbaijan’s Shafag Hamidova.

In the women’s -57kg category, Russia’s Liliia Nugaeva claimed a bronze medal. Azerbaijan’s Gultaj Mammadaliyeva finished fifth in the same category after losing the first bronze-medal contest.

The event was attended by several high-ranking officials, including the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, His Excellency Mr. Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, and International Judo Federation President Mr. Marius Vizer.