PARIS, July 28 (Xinhua) -- Japan's judo veteran Hifumi Abe successfully defended his Olympic title in the men's 66kg category at Paris 2024, while Diyora Keldiyorova of Uzbekistan claimed the country's first-ever Olympic judo gold in the women's 52kg here on Sunday.
In the men's 66kg event, Olympic debutant Willian Lima of Brazil, ranked 16th in the world, beat Kazakhstan's Gusman Kyrgyzbayev by golden score to book a final place, while Tokyo Olympic champion Abe won a fierce semifinal over world No. 1 Denis Vieru of Moldova by an ippon.
The final witnessed four-time world champion Abe beat Lima by two waza-ari within three minutes to give Japan their second gold at the Paris Olympics. The bronze medal was shared by Kyrgyzbayev and Vieru.
"The cheering from the audience gave me strength, and I was so surprised that they knew me and supported me. Today was not an easy fight. I am glad to meet their expectations," said Abe.
In the women's 52kg final, world No. 1 Keldiyorova defeated Kosovo's Distria Krasniqi, who had been crowned in the 48kg category at the Tokyo Olympics, to earn Uzbekistan's first-ever Olympic gold in judo.
"I prepared for the Olympics for a long time, and I know there are over 35 million Uzbekistan people behind me. All I need to do is fight," Keldiyorova said.
Larissa Pimenta of Brazil and France's Amandine Buchard shared third place. Tokyo Olympic champion Uta Abe, younger sister of Hifumi Abe, failed to reach the final eight by losing to Keldiyorova, while China's Zhu Yeqing was eliminated in the round of 32.
"I prepared well in training, but maybe I was too nervous at the Olympic Games," said Olympic debutant Zhu. "The draw was actually good for me. I had the advantage of height and arm span over my opponent, but she restricted what I am good at today."
