Turkmen judoka Maysa Pardayeva, winner of the gold medal at the Qingdao Grand Prix and the bronze medal at the Ulaanbaatar Grand Slam, will compete at the Grand Slam tournament in Lausanne, Switzerland, scheduled for August 28–30.

The Turkmenistan national team will be represented by ten athletes — eight men and two women. Pardayeva will compete in the under 57 kg weight category.

The 21-year-old student of the Turkmen State Institute of Physical Culture and Sports has significantly improved her results this year. In July, she won a bronze medal at the "Ulaanbaatar Grand Slam 2026" in Mongolia. On her way to the podium, Pardayeva defeated the 2024 world champion and Paris Olympic silver medalist Huh Mimi of South Korea, as well as European champion Timna Nelson-Levy of Israel.

Following the competition in Mongolia, at the "Qingdao Grand Prix 2026" in China, Pardayeva secured six consecutive victories to win the gold medal. This is her first gold medal at this level in her sports career. In the semi-finals and final, she triumphed after prolonged golden score periods by a clean ippon over five-time Grand Slam winner Momo Tamaoki of Japan and Martha Fawaz of France.

Through her performances in Mongolia and China, Pardayeva earned 1,200 points in the International Judo Federation (IJF) ranking. Both tournaments marked the beginning of the qualification cycle for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

"Winning a victory at a tournament of this level has always been one of my biggest dreams... My main goal is to win a medal at the XXXIV Summer Olympic Games," her words are quoted by the "Turkmenistan: Golden Age" electronic newspaper.

The Lausanne Grand Slam will bring together 475 athletes from 67 countries. The tournament will make history as the first Grand Slam within the IJF World Tour where judokas with disabilities will compete alongside main-category athletes.

The Turkmenistan national team squad includes: Ural Bakhtiyarov and Igtiyar Kurbanberdiev (under 60 kg), Serdar Rahimov (under 66 kg), Meylis Shamyradov and Allamyrat Annagurbanov (under 73 kg), Agajan Ayhanov and Batyr Merdanov (under 81 kg), Baymyrat Majanov (under 100 kg), Maysa Pardayeva and Medine Oraznyyazova (under 57 kg).