Michaela Polleres books second career Grand Slam victory

Michaela Polleres of Austria demonstrated exceptional performance throughout day 2 in Dushanbe, swiftly defeating Willems of Belgium, Gercsak of Hungary, and Pogacnik of Slovenia to advance to the final. Despite facing opponents in good form, Polleres remained unrivaled, maintaining her position as the number one seed and aiming to conclude her day with the same status.

Meanwhile, world silver medallist Lara Cvjetko of Croatia mirrored Polleres' dominance with slightly more resistance, overcoming challenges from Eriksson of Sweden and Petersen Pollard of Great Britain in her path to the final, where she faced off against Jemima Yeats-Brown of Great Britain.

In the final, Polleres continued her dominance, showcasing her proficiency in both throwing and countering techniques with unwavering commitment. She decisively threw Croatia's Lara Cvjetko twice, securing Austria's second gold of the day and concluding the women's categories with authority.

The battle for the first bronze medal unfolded between Jemima Yeats-Brown and Szabina Gercsak. Despite an aggressive start from Yeats-Brown, she was countered for a waza-ari early in the contest, struggling to regain momentum thereafter. With a minute left on the clock, she was thrown again, this time with uchi-mata for ippon, securing the bronze for Gercsak with confidence and precision.

In the race for the second bronze medal, Kelly Petersen Pollard faced off against Pogacnik, both vying for valuable Olympic ranking points. Petersen Pollard displayed determination and confidence, swiftly executing a seoi-otoshi to defeat Pogacnik and claim the bronze, while Pogacnik finished in 5th place, earning crucial points for her ranking.