A successful tournament was held in Turkey, where the best judo exponents in the world gathered to compete in the Antalya Grand Slam. The event welcomed 628 athletes representing 93 countries, with Japan leading the medal table with five gold, one silver and two bronze medals.

The Japanese achieved a solid participation in Antalya, climbing to the top of the podium in five categories: Hifumi Abe in -66 kilos, Takanori Nagase in -81, Sanshiro Murao in -90, Tatsuru Saito in +100 and Aaron Wolf in -100, maintaining the Asian country as the world leader of a discipline that they invented and already practiced around the 17th century.

Second place on the overall podium was occupied by France, who won three gold medals, one silver and two bronze medals, highlighted by three-time Olympic champion Teddy Riner; and also the return to competition of world medalist Julia Tolofua, who returned to the tatami after seven months of recovery from an injury.

Canada, for its part, closed the podium at the Antalya Grand Slam, positioning itself as the best American country in the competition with one gold and two silvers. In addition to those mentioned, Portugal, Korea, Austria and Moldova were also successful countries in Turkey, with wins in other weight categories apart from the ones highlighted above..

The next stop for international judo will be Tajikistan, with the Dushanbe Grand Slam to be held from May 3 to 5.