Paschalidou’s Statement Win Stands Out as Brazil Leads Astana Medal Rush

The final day of the 2026 IBSA Judo Grand Prix Astana brought a packed schedule, sharp performances, and a medal table led by Brazil. Across the remaining nine categories, established Paralympic and IBSA world medallists shared the tatami with rising names, and the level stayed high from the first rounds to the last final.

Brazil collected the most gold medals, but the day was far from a one-team story. Athletes from 14 countries reached the podium, while 18 nations made the final block across the two-day event, a strong sign of how wide the competition has become on the IBSA circuit.

For European fans, one of the biggest highlights came in J1W -70 kg, where Greece’s Theodora Paschalidou produced a composed and forceful final against top seed Brenda Souza De Freitas of Brazil. Paschalidou set the tone immediately, scoring a yuko early and never backing off. She kept the pressure on, added a Waza-ari, and transitioned cleanly into kesa-gatame to finish the contest in impressive style.

Paschalidou turned the final into her own kind of statement.

There were also European medals elsewhere, even if not all came at the very top of the podium. In J1W -60 kg, Uslu Hajabipour of Türkiye earned bronze in a category eventually won by Uzbekistan’s Uljon Amrieva. Amrieva had to work hard in the final after Karoline Duarte of Brazil opened with two yuko scores, but the Uzbek world champion adjusted, scored back, and then took control in osaekomi to seal gold.

In J2W -70 kg, Duygu Cete Artar of Türkiye reached the final as expected and took silver behind Brazil’s Alana Maldonado. Maldonado was in command from the opening Hajime, putting a yuko on the board quickly before following with Ippon. Romania’s Cristina Dumitrescu added another European result in the same category with a bronze medal.

Spain also appeared on the podium through Inigo Gerboles Lopes in J2M -95 kg, taking bronze after the category developed differently than expected. The title there went to Magomedkhabib Saaduev, who overturned a deficit in the final against Brazil’s Marcelo Casanova and finished with Ippon.

France’s Nacer Zorgani endured one of the tougher days among the European entries. In J2M +95 kg, he was beaten by Mohammadreza Kheirollahzadeh of Iran and then exited in the repechage against Gwang Geun Choi of Korea. The eventual winner was Kazakhstan’s Zhurkamyrza Shukurbekov, who used repeated seoi-otoshi attacks to disrupt Kheirollahzadeh and finally earned the deciding yuko late in the contest.

Brazil’s overall strength still defined the event. Arthur Cavalcante Da Silva took J1M -95 kg with a rapid Ippon in the final, Wilians De Araujo controlled the J1M +95 kg final, Erika Zoaga won an all-Brazilian J1W +70 kg showdown against Millena De Freitas, and Rebeca Silva claimed J2W +70 kg after Zarina Raifova of Kazakhstan was unable to contest the final due to injury.

By the close in Astana, the numbers said a lot: Brazil finished on top, but the wider picture mattered too. With so many countries reaching finals and podiums, IBSA Judo left Kazakhstan with real momentum.

Source: IJF.org

Image source: IJF / International Judo Federation