Judo Gold Medal Hopeful Uta Abe Loses in 2nd Round, Ending Bid to Repeat Victory with Brother at Paris Games

The Yomiuri Shimbun

18:51 JST, July 28, 2024

Uta Abe, a favorite to win the women’s 52-kilogram division, lost in the second round at the Paris Olympics on Sunday, dashing her hopes to win back-to-back golds.

Abe, 24, won a gold medal at the Tokyo Games three years ago. On Sunday, she was defeated by Diyora Keldiyorova of Uzbekistan, who is currently ranked No. 1 in the world. Keldiyorova has also won silver medals at two consecutive world championships.

Abe was aiming to repeat as a gold medalist with her brother, Hifumi, who won the men’s 66-kilogram division at the previous Olympics. Hifumi is set to compete later Sunday.