Bahrain Building momentum on the road to the LA

Bahrain is steadily emerging as a new force on the IJF World Tour. One of the clearest signs of that rise came at the 2026 Grand Slam in Tashkent where Said Sadrudinov produced the biggest result of his career.

The Bahraini judoka captured gold in dramatic fashion. In the final he faced Sarsenbaev and appeared on the verge of defeat, trailing by waza-ari as the clock ticked down. With just four seconds remaining Sadrudinov launched a decisive attack to turn the contest around and claim victory, silencing the home crowd under enormous pressure.

His path to the final already included one of the tournament’s biggest surprises. In the semi-final Sadrudinov defeated Olympic champion Zelym Kotsoiev of Azerbaijan with an unorthodox uchimata, a bold attack that stunned the audience and confirmed his growing reputation.

Technically Sadrudinov is one of the most interesting fighters on the circuit. Earlier in the tournament he demonstrated a creative hybrid technique that reflects the influence of Saeid Mollaei. Like Mollaei he begins with a double-sleeve grip and ducks under the opponent’s right armpit. Instead of dropping to his knees however he sits down and, rather than leaning backwards for a reverse kata-guruma, he finishes with a sumi-gaeshi. The unusual combination creates a dynamic and highly effective scoring opportunity.

His success in Tashkent follows strong results in 2025 when he won the Asian Championships in Bangkok and the Asian Open in Amman.

With athletes such as Sadrudinov at U100kg, Gerbekov at U81kg, Poltoratskii at U60kg, Sagaipov at U90kg and heavyweight Chotchaev, Bahrain is assembling a competitive squad. As Olympic qualification approaches the nation is positioning itself for a far stronger presence on the world stage.

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