Olympic judo champion Diyora Keldyorova asked Uzbeks to stop writing hate comments to Uta Abe. “I ask everyone, no matter who they are, to show deep respect for everyone. This is, of course, sports, this is the force that unites us! We are a judo family, please stop it. In my opinion, the most important thing judo teaches people is the respect,” Keldyorova wrote in her Instagram Stories.
Uta Abe, the tournament favorite, the current Olympic champion and four-time world champion, who had not lost in world judo tournaments for five years, became Keldyorova’s first opponent in the 1/8 finals at the Olympics in Paris.
The last time Uta Abe lost 47 wins ago was in November 2019, when she lost to Amandine Bouchard of France (the Uzbek athlete also defeated her in the semi-finals).
The Abe siblings' dream of winning judo gold medals for Japan on the same day in their second straight Olympics ended early on Sunday with Uta Abe's shocking loss to Diyora Keldiyorova of Uzbekistan in the round of 16.
Uta Abe and her older brother, Hifumi, both won gold in their home Tokyo Olympics, and they both won world championships in each of the two years since 2021. But they won't go home from the Paris Games with another matching set of medals after Keldiyorova beat Abe with a tani otoshi throw for a spectacular ippon 3:04 into their match.
Uta Abe was disconsolate after a loss that clearly stunned her as much as the crowd. After struggling to get to her feet and to step down from the tatami, she knelt and wept in the arms of her coach for at least three minutes after her bout. Her sorrow delayed the next match at Arena Champ-de-Mars in the women's 52-kilogram category, which the 24-year-old has dominated for years.
Uta Abe didn't speak to dozens of reporters gathered after her bout, with her team saying she was too upset. Indeed, her loud sobbing could be heard from dozens of yards outside the tent where she was gathering herself outside the arena.
The Abe siblings are huge celebrities in Japan and in the judo world with their photogenic smiles and uncommonly demonstrative personalities, but Uta Abe was unable to add a second Olympic gold medal to her Tokyo gold and four world championships.
Diyora Keldiyorova's gold was the first medal for Uzbekistan at the 2024 Games. She became the first athlete in Uzbekistan’s history to win gold in judo. Before this, judokas won two silver medals (Armen Bagdasarov in 1996 and Abdulla Tangriev in 2008), as well as five bronze medals (Rishod Sobirov in 2008, 2012 and 2016, Diyorbek Urozboev in 2016 and Davlat Bobonov in 2020).
Keldiyorova is also the first athlete to win a gold medal among women from Uzbekistan at the Summer Olympics. Before this, the only gold was won by freestyle skier Lina Cheryazova at the Winter Olympics in 1994. The last time a representative of Uzbekistan stood on the podium was at the Beijing Olympics in 2008 - it was jumper Ekaterina Khilko.
