Shido decides the -90 kg gold in Dushanbe as Kopecky delivers a Czech medal moment

The men’s -90 kg at the Dushanbe Grand Slam 2026 felt tight from the start, with the leading seeds separated by only a handful of places on the IJF World Ranking List. Still, Theodoros Tselidis (GRE) carried the biggest spotlight, backed by his Olympic bronze from Paris. He looked every bit the favourite on his way to the last fight.

Tselidis reached the final through a run of measured, well-timed throwing in the early rounds. Waiting for him was Mansur Lorsanov (RUS), already a three-time Grand Slam champion and chasing a fourth title. With both men aware of what a single opening could cost, the contest began cautiously, almost like a standoff.

That restraint created a different kind of danger: penalties. As golden score approached, both judoka had collected two Shido, turning the match into a knife-edge where one more mistake would end everything. The deciding moment came when Tselidis received the third Shido, handing the win to Lorsanov.

When both athletes hold back, the scoreboard can punish first.

Europe still had a bright highlight in the bronze medal matches. Adam Kopecky (CZE) produced a turnaround that secured the Czech team’s first medal of the tournament. Under early pressure from Eldar Allakhverdiev (RUS), Kopecky conceded Waza-ari in under a minute after a powerful Uchi-mata-makikomi.

Instead of chasing wildly, he reset quickly and levelled the scores around a minute and a half later. Then he shifted tactics, dropped underneath, and caught Allakhverdiev with Tomoe-nage for a second Waza-ari to finish the contest. It marked Kopecky’s third Grand Slam medal, and one of the liveliest swings of the day.

In the second bronze fight, Mihail Latisev (MDA) built control early with Yuko and held firm under Daniil Krylov’s (KAZ) pressure. A late Waza-ari from O-uchi-gari in the final 20 seconds effectively sealed Latisev’s third Grand Slam medal.

Source: JudoInside