emirates7 - UAE national judo team athlete Mohammed Yazbek claimed the gold medal in the under-73kg category at the Paris Grand Slam, marking the opening event of the International Judo Federation’s 2026 calendar.

The competition kicked off yesterday at the Accor Arena in Bercy, Paris, featuring 488 top-ranked male and female judokas from 78 countries.

Yazbek advanced through the preliminary rounds after defeating Ukraine’s Said Khaldoov and Britain’s Irakli Goginashvili. He went on to overcome Moldova’s Adil Osmanov, bronze medallist at the Paris 2024 Olympics, in the quarter-finals, before defeating France’s Paul Mathieu in the semi-finals, securing his place in the final and achieving a decisive victory over Italy’s Manuel Lombardo.

Mohammed bin Thaaloob Al Dere’i, President of the UAE Judo Federation, said this honourable gold achievement would not have been possible without the wise leadership’s unwavering support and attention to the youth and sports sectors. He noted that such backing has enhanced the performance of young athletes through participation in international competitions, enabling them to shoulder the responsibility of representing the nation at major events and raising the UAE flag high among the world’s nations.