Brazil’s Maria Suelen Altheman bounced back from her disappointment on home soil at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro ©IJF

Brazil’s Maria Suelen Altheman bounced back from her disappointment on home soil at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro by clinching the gold medal in the women’s over 78 kilograms category on the final day of the International Judo Federation (IJF) Abu Dhabi Grand Slam at the IPIC Arena.

Altheman, beaten in her opening bout at Rio 2016, overcame Budapest Grand Prix winner Carolin Weiss of Germany after scoring an ippon.

Maryna Slutskaya of Belarus was the recipient of the first bronze medal as she beat Iryna Kindzerska of the Ukraine, with the other available third place finish in the category won by Lithuania’s Santa Pakenyte thanks to her win against Kindzerska’s team-mate Yelyzaveta Kalanina.

In the women’s under 78kg division, Dutchwoman Guusje Steenhuis picked up her fourth Grand Slam triumph with victory over Germany’s Anna Maria Wagner.

Steenhuis, a European Championships silver medallist, got the better of her German opponent by a slender margin in what proved to be a hard-fought contest.

Dutchwoman Guusje Steenhuis picked up her fourth Grand Slam triumph with victory over Germany’s Anna Maria Wagner in the women's under 78kg division ©IJF
Dutchwoman Guusje Steenhuis picked up her fourth Grand Slam triumph with victory over Germany’s Anna Maria Wagner in the women's under 78kg division ©IJF

The two bronze medals in the category were claimed by Brazil’s Samanta Soares and Anastasiya Turchyn of the Ukraine after they defeated Madeleine Malonga of France and her compatriot Sama Hawa Camara respectively.

Azerbaijan’s Elkhan Mammadov emerged victorious from the battle of the former world champions to top the podium in the men’s under 100kg competition.

The 34-year-old came up against fellow veteran Luciano Correa of Brazil in the final and was made to work hard for his title, eventually edging his opponent by virtue of receiving less shido penalties.

Sweden’s Joakim Dvarby defeated Kazakhstan’s Aibek Serikbayev to earn the first bronze medal, while Zlatko Kumric of Croatia’s withdrawal handed the second to Germany’s Philip Awiti-Alcaraz.

Azerbaijan’s Elkhan Mammadov emerged victorious from the battle of the former world champions to top the podium in the men’s under 100kg event ©IJF
Azerbaijan’s Elkhan Mammadov emerged victorious from the battle of the former world champions to top the podium in the men’s under 100kg event ©IJF

Baku Grand Slam silver medallist Aleksandar Kukolj of Serbia got his hands on gold in the men’s under 90kg as he justified his top seed billing by seeing off Frenchman Axel Clerget.

Azerbaijan earned another medal thanks to Tural Safguliyev of Azerbaijan, who beat Hannes Conrad of Germany in the opening bronze medal match, with Kukolj’s team-mate Nemanja Majdov also finishing on the podium as he defeated Britain’s Max Stewart.

In the fifth and final category - and the last of the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam event - an early score by Daniel Natea was enough for the Romanian to beat Aliaksandr Vakhaviak of Belarus to the gold medal in the over 100kg. 

There was double disappointment for Russia in the bronze medal matches as Anton Brachev and Soslan Bustanov succumbed to defeats at the hands of the Czech Republic’s Michal Horak and Brazil’s David Moura respectively.

The next IJF Grand Slam is due to take place in Tokyo, host city of the 2020 Olympic Games, on December 2 until 4. 

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