Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — Uzbek judokas Fotimakhon Tursunboeva in the under-48 kg category and Nizomiddinkhodja Toshpulatov in the under-73 kg category won gold at the Aktau Asian Open 2026 in Kazakhstan. Khalimajon Kurbonova (under 48 kg), Mukhayyo Akhmatova (under 57 kg) and Sarvinoz Khusanova (under 63 kg) claimed bronze medals.
Tursunboeva won all four of her bouts at the tournament. In the round of 16, she defeated Kazakhstan’s Zere Otepkali by ippon, then beat another Kazakh judoka, Sabina Yuldashbekova, in the quarter-finals. Tursunboeva also defeated compatriot Khalimajon Kurbonova by ippon in the semi-finals. In the final, she faced Kazakhstan’s Symbat Tagay and secured victory with two waza-ari scores.
Kurbonova also reached the semi-finals in the under-48 kg category, defeating two Kazakh opponents: Aidana Khasenkyzy by two waza-ari scores and Iyanat Zhubatkhan with a waza-ari. After losing to Tursunboeva in the semi-final, she beat Kazakhstan’s Diana Burkeeva by two waza-ari scores in the bronze-medal bout. Uzbekistan therefore secured two medals in the under-48 kg category.
Toshpulatov also won all four of his bouts in the under-73 kg category. He defeated Kyrgyzstan’s Nikita Mazur by ippon in the round of 16 before overcoming three Azerbaijani judokas in succession. He beat Nariman Mirzayev by ippon in the quarter-finals and Rufat Shovlatov in the semi-finals. In the final, Toshpulatov defeated Kamran Suleymanov with two waza-ari scores.
In the under-57 kg category, Akhmatova opened her campaign with an ippon victory over Kazakhstan’s Ayaulym Kalmyrza, then beat Inkar Tulepbergenova by waza-ari. She lost in the semi-finals to Kazakhstan’s Dina Mukhanbet by yuko in a bout lasting 9 minutes and 50 seconds. In the bronze-medal contest, Akhmatova defeated compatriot Nilufar Yermaganbetova by ippon.
Khusanova began her campaign in the under-63 kg category with a quarter-final victory over Kazakhstan’s Nura Zhenis. She lost to Kazakhstan’s Samalay Yergaliyeva by waza-ari in the semi-finals. In the bronze-medal bout, Khusanova defeated Kazakhstan’s Valeria Postnikova by ippon.
As reported earlier, Uzbekistan’s Olympic champion Diyora Keldiyorova also won gold at the Aktau Asian Open 2026, defeating an Azerbaijani judoka in the final.
