Anna Monta Olek eyeing for title in Astana

At the -78kg category, the top two seeds are Ma Zhenzhao of China, the 2022 world silver medalist, and Anna Monta Olek of Germany, a three-time grand prix winner. Ma enters the event with a bronze medal from the Antalya Grand Slam 2024, while Olek, at 21 years old, is one of three German athletes currently in a qualifying position for the Paris Olympics in this category.

However, her Olympic aspirations may have to wait until LA 2028. The only previous encounter between Ma and Olek occurred at the 2023 World Championships, where Ma emerged victorious. Olek will be eager to reverse that outcome if they both progress to the final.

The British duo of Emma Reid and Natalie Powell are seeded fourth and fifth, respectively, mirroring their seeding from last week's event in Dushanbe. They are likely to meet in the quarter-final stage. Reid slightly extended her lead over Powell in the Olympic rankings after securing bronze in Tajikistan, despite losing to Powell, who finished fifth. Powell has the opportunity to close the gap with a strong performance in Astana.

Giorgia Stangherlin of Italy, the silver medalist from the Tashkent Grand Slam 2023, is seeded third and could potentially face Beata Pacut-Kloczko of Poland in the quarter-finals. Pacut-Kloczko comes into the event with confidence after winning bronze in Dushanbe last week. Loriana Kuka of Kosovo is seeded sixth and aims to end her podium drought, although she faces a tough challenge against top seed Ma Zhenzhao.