Tanioka defeats top seed for Tashkent gold

Narumi Tanioka won the women’s under-63kg title at the Tashkent Grand Slam by defeating top seed Catherine Beauchemin-Pinard. The Japanese athlete controlled the final against a Canadian opponent appearing in her eighth Grand Slam gold-medal contest, with six earlier titles.

Beauchemin-Pinard had reached the final by scoring late against Manon Deketer in a close semifinal. Tanioka advanced from the opposite side of the draw, building on Grand Slam silver and bronze medals in 2025 and a World University Games title.

Poland’s Angelika Szymanska took bronze by beating former world champion Joanne Van Lieshout with a decisive yuko. Deketer recovered from her semifinal defeat to earn the second bronze against Gili Sharir, preserving a yuko lead despite pressure in the final exchanges of their match.