Saeid Mollaei of Iran claimed a silver medal in the International Judo Federation (IJF) Grand Slam in Baku, Azerbaijan on Sunday.

The Asian Championships bronze medallist lost to Azerbaijan’s Rufat Ismayilov in the men’s under 81 kilograms title at the Heydar Aliyev Arena.

“I could have won a gold medal but I made some mistakes against my Azeri opponent. I think it’s time for winning a gold medal in the upcoming Asian Championships,” Mollaei said.     

The three-day event has brought 449 judoka from 76 countries together at the second of five annual Grand Slams on the International Judo Federation (IJF) World Judo Tour.

It is the first of three remaining meets in the Olympic qualification phase with 500 points on offer for gold medallists, 300 for runners-up, and 200 for third-place finishers.

The second event is the Almaty Grand Prix from May 13 to 15, followed by the invite-only World Judo Masters in Mexican city Guadalajara from May 27 to 29.