Basile’s return, Eme’s breakthrough and a packed medal haul in Astana

Day two at the Qazaqstan Barysy Grand Slam 2026 brought a strong European presence, with four finals featuring athletes from the continent, two gold medals and several important podium finishes across the weight categories.

One of the early talking points came in the women’s -63kg draw, where reigning Dutch European champion Joanne van Lieshout was beaten in the second round by Dali Liluashvili. The Russian went on to take silver, opening up a category that also produced a memorable result for Germany.

Sara-Joy Bauer, still only 20 and already the 2024 European junior champion, captured the first Grand Slam medal of her career. Her run included a win over home judoka Esmigul Kuyulova before she was stopped in the semi-finals by Rafaela Silva. Bauer responded well, beating Poland’s Natalia Kropska and then Mongolia’s Gankhaich Bold to secure bronze.

Sara-Joy Bauer left Astana with her first Grand Slam medal.

In the men’s -73kg category, Fabio Basile produced one of the most eye-catching European stories of the day. The Italian Olympic champion reached a World Judo Tour final for the first time in three years, showing again the belief that has defined so much of his career.

The final against Danil Lavrentev became a tense contest built around o-uchi-gari exchanges. Basile moved ahead first with a yuko, but Lavrentev answered with an o-uchi-gari of his own to level the score. In golden score, the Russian found the decisive attack for Ippon, leaving Basile with silver but also with a significant step forward after a long wait for another final.

France had a standout moment in the women’s -70kg division through Clemence Eme. After taking bronze in Dushanbe, she went one better in Kazakhstan and defeated top seed Miriam Butkereit of Germany in the final. Eme scored a yuko inside the opening minute and held on to claim another gold for France.

Her performance carried extra weight given her own comments after the final, when she said she had considered retiring from judo two years ago. She also pointed to ura-nage as one of the techniques now appearing from her training in competition, a sign that her judo is still developing.

Butkereit finished with silver, while the Netherlands added another medal through Sanne van Dijke. The Olympic bronze medallist and double European champion earned bronze, continuing her run of results after also taking bronze at the 2025 World Championships.

Clemence Eme turned bronze in Dushanbe into gold in Kazakhstan.

The final European medals of the day came in the men’s -81kg division. Moldova’s Petru Pelivan reached the final before taking silver against home favourite Zhalgas Kairolla, in a match described as a high-scoring and entertaining close to the day. Ukraine’s Vladyslav Kolobov also made his breakthrough, winning the first Grand Slam podium finish of his career after six previous attempts.

Taken together, it was a day with different shades of success for Europe in Astana: a comeback final for Basile, a breakthrough for Bauer, a major gold for Eme and valuable podium finishes that could matter later in the season.

Source: EJU.net

Image source: EJU / European Judo Union