ADGS Istanbul: Masters open the tournament with exciting matches

June 27, 2025

The Abu Dhabi Grand Slam World Tour is back for its first event of the 2025-2026 season. Taking place at the Ayhan Şahenk Spor Salonu, in Turkey, the ADGS Istanbul offers 2000 global ranking points to each of its champions and it's set to take place over the weekend, with athletes of all ages and graduations each taking a specific day to show their skills and fight for the coveted AJP gold medal. Opening the competition this Friday, June 27th, the battle-hardened warriors of the Master category warmed up the mats and showed their experience as they fought for the top of the podium.

Standing out among the many competitors showing their skills on the tournament's first day, the black belts took the stage with fierce resolve as they faced each other to lead their respective weight divisions. In the 69kg division, the UK's Muhammed Mustafa entered a three-man bracket and used the scoreboard to reach the gold medal, first scoring last in a 1-1 tie against Alexandre Montoril and then landing a whopping 14-2 win over Jobson Apolinario. In the 77kg division, the Brazilian Thiago Marques showed once again why he's the favorite and got the title by outscoring Diego Pinheiro and submitting Krzysztof Suchorabski, while the Russian Iurii Kuznetsov went through the 85kg bracket like a freight train and submitted Vahid Vazirian, Dinu Bucalet, and Artem Kaigarodov to become the champion.

Up on the 94kg division, the Portuguese Telmo Castro conquered the gold medal with a 9-2 win over Viacheslav Ilin followed by a 7-1 score against Belmir Ahmespahic in the final, and the 120kg division title went to the Brazilian Felipe Bezerra, who landed a submission on Mahir Zuka before getting a winning 8-6 score against Alexander Sak in the gold round. Last but not least, the women's 62kg division saw the French powerhouse Lina Grosset add another accolade to her resumé, entering a round-robin to outscore Georgina Contel by 2-0 and then get the three taps from Jasmin Loosli to confirm her reign over the weight class.

With the first day concluded, the ADGS Istanbul now prepares to continue the action and welcome the Youth and Amateur categories to the mats this Saturday, June 28th. Watch all the action live and exclusively on the TX7.com platform, and be sure to follow @ajptour on social media to keep up-to-date on all things ADGS.