Iznaur Saaev defeats Revol for gold in Abu Dhabi

In the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam final for men U60kg, Iznaur Saaev picked up a first penalty for false attack after one minute, followed by a second one a little later. Revol was also penalised for stepping out of the competition area. Generally speaking it was a very pleasant contest to follow, with actions coming from both sides.

With seven grand slam medals, Cédric Revol (FRA), ranked 10th in the world, is no stranger to the circuit. Already a winner here last year during the 2023 edition of the event, the Emirates are clearly smiling on him, as the Frenchman once again qualified for the final.

The French judoka seemed slightly ahead though, but in judo what counts is the score, and it is Iznaur Saaev who counterattacked and scored a necessary waza-ari. We were in fact in the golden score, so that ended the final with the victory of Iznaur Saaev.

Dauren Syukenov (KAZ) and Magzhan shamshadin (KAZ) faced each other in the first contest for the bronze medal in a 100% Kazakh bout. The third penalty collected by shamshadin gave the medal to his teammate. Bronze medal for Dauren Syukenov (KAZ).

Gamzat Zairbekov (IJF) and Emiel Jaring (NED) had a chance to complete the podium. It is a bit against the run of play that Emiel Jaring, who was already penalised twice, scored a waza-ari with a turn-over that Zairbekov probably thought was in ne-waza. But it wasn't and the bronze medal went to the Netherlands and Jaring.

Further behind the French judoka in the world rankings, since he is ranked 56th, Iznaur Saaev (IJF) was nevertheless the one who did best at the top of the draw. Although he is one of the outsiders, he managed to get through the rounds by stringing together victories.

Zayed Alnaqbi (UAE), Maxime Merlin (FRA), Dauren Syukenov (KAZ), winner of the number one seed Balabay Aghayev (AZE) in the previous round, and Emiel Jaring (NED), are the ones who paid the price for Saeev's good form.