Uzbekistan achieved a victory by winning gold and silver medals at the Lauan Grand Slam tournament. These achievements are the result of strong performances by two Uzbek judokas, Nurbek Murtazoyev and Umar Bozorov, who competed in the final of the men's 90 kg weight category.
The competition results were officially published by the International Judo Federation (IJF) on its official website. Before the tournament, Nurbek Murtazoyev ranked 20th in the world rankings. Previously, in 2025, he won silver at the Asian Championships and bronze at the Tashkent Grand Slam. Furthermore, he is a silver medalist at the FISU 2023 World University Games, and the final in Lauan was his first Grand Slam final.
Umar Bozorov ranked 23rd in the world before the competition. He had previously won the Tbilisi Grand Slam in 2025 and also secured silver at the Ulaanbaatar Grand Slam. The final match between the two teammates from the Uzbekistan national team, who know each other well, remained tense for a long time. However, Bozorov managed to execute a counterattack and cleanly threw Murtazoyev onto his back, earning an ippon and the gold medal.
After the victory, Bozorov stated: 'I am very happy to win my second Grand Slam title, and I would like to express my deep gratitude to all my coaches and everyone who supports me. The World Championships will be held in Baku next month. We will do everything possible to win, and for our Uzbek national anthem to sound in honor of our country. The arena and atmosphere here in Lauan were truly amazing. Thank you very much to all the fans.'
Earlier that day, Ernazar Sarsenbayev won a bronze medal in the 100 kg category after defeating Tettu Hamadu from Japan. In total, Uzbekistan concluded the tournament by collecting five medals: one gold, two silver, and two bronze.