Moldovan judokas had a modest performance at the Osaka Grand Slam. Dorin Goțonoagă and Nicon Zaboroșciuc were eliminated after the first fight in the 81 kg weight class, IPN reports.

Goțonoagă met the German Alexander Wieczerzak, world champion in 2017, being defeated after almost 5 minutes of the fight. In his turn, Zaboroșciuc lost to the Uzbek Kamoliddin Rasulov.

As for female judokas, Cristina Blanaru (52 kg) defeated the Azeri Gultaj Mammadaliyeva and lost to the future bronze medal winner, the Japanese Ai Shishime.