Bozorov’s Ippon Counter Seals -90 kg Gold in Lausanne

Umar Bozorov claimed the -90 kg title in Lausanne after a decisive counter-attack against fellow Uzbek judoka Nurbek Murtozoev. Their final guaranteed Uzbekistan both gold and silver after two strong performances through the day.

The team-mates knew each other well, and the contest stayed tight for a long period. Bozorov found the breakthrough with a powerful counter, bringing Murtozoev cleanly onto his back for Ippon.

One sharp counter decided an all-Uzbek final.

For Bozorov, the result was his second Grand Slam title. Ranked 23rd in the world before the event, he had won the Tbilisi Grand Slam in 2025 and later took silver at the Ulaanbaatar Grand Slam that year.

Murtozoev, world number 20 on arrival in Lausanne, reached the first Grand Slam final of his career. The former -81 kg judoka had already earned Asian continental silver in 2025, bronze at the Tashkent Grand Slam on home soil and silver at the 2023 FISU World University Games.

Bozorov thanked his coaches, supporters and the Lausanne crowd after the final. He also pointed ahead to next month’s World Championships in Baku, where Uzbekistan will aim to challenge for more success.

The bronze medals went to Serbia’s Nemanja Majdov and Egor Andoni of Russia. Majdov, a former world champion, defeated Czech judoka Adam Kopecky, while Andoni overcame France’s Maxime-Gael Ngayap Hambou, the Paris Olympic bronze medallist.

Kopecky and Ngayap Hambou finished fifth, with Rafael Macedo of Brazil and Bulgaria’s Ivaylo Ivanov taking seventh place. The -90 kg podium belonged to Bozorov, Murtozoev, Majdov and Andoni after a memorable day of Judo in Lausanne.

Source: IJF.org

Image source: IJF / International Judo Federation